


The Making of a Grey Sage

by spidereye



Series: Prophets and legecy's [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-08
Packaged: 2019-01-31 03:21:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12667200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spidereye/pseuds/spidereye
Summary: Second year of Hogwarts. Strange voices, rescues, poisonous potions and all the usual distrust and double crossing that comes from being the Boy-Who-Lived





	1. 1

Vortigern ruled in Britain and during his rule in Britain he was under pressure, from fear of the Picts and the Irish (Scots), and of a Roman invasion, and, not least, from dread of Ambrosius, elder brother to Uther Pendragon who had been hidden in France with his brother since they were babies. In His fear he commanded a fortress to be build to protect himself from his enemies. He started to build but every night the walls collapsed with no explanation. In desperation he called his wise men and druids to figure out the problem. None of the could, until one claimed a solution; seek a boy with no father, born of the fairies. He would be able to solve the High-King's problem. 

Vortigern's men searched far and wide and discovered such a boy at what was soon to become Caer-Fyrddin (Carmarthen). His name was Myrddin Emrys, or "Merlin" for short. Merlin revealed that at night the mountain shook so that all buildings collapsed, because beneath it were buried two fighting dragons. Merlin claimed 'One white representing the Saxons and one red representing the British', and the white one was winning! After a great struggle the red dragon would rise triumphant, sending the white dragon back into it's slumber. Merlin was young and Merlin was wrong.

In France a seer awoke from her trance with a gasp, her scribe shakily handed her the parchment on which her newest prophecy was now recorded. Her eyes skimmed the pages and a deep sadness crept into her ageless face,

“So the efforts of the Malfoy family to bring a magical King to the land of the Angles will fail.”

“It appears so my Lady, Uther the red dragon shall rule the Land of Magic until the white dragon has strength once again. What shall happen to the child of Lord Ambrosias and the heir of the Malfoy's?”

The seers eyes glowed white for a second at the question,

“The true heir to the Kingdom of Magic will be forgotten until it is time to rise again. It will be in dark times when the need for a leader is great. Ahh, the future is too far ahead to see clearly. Inform Lord Malfoy of what will come to pass and give him hope that one day his dreams might flourish into reality.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Harry Potter stood by the stove as he watched his Uncle and Cousin devour the full English breakfast in front of them with pig like grace. His Aunt had settled on a piece of toast and was nibbling on it watching her two perfect men get a healthy meal inside them so they did not fade away. Harry with the ease of practice ignored his complaining stomach that ached for food, He would not give these people the satisfaction of seeing him weak even if he had not really eaten for two days. He mentally went through the home work he had yet to do in his head again, ready to do it as soon as he was able to sneak into his old cupboard and get it. His uncle had tried to shove him in there when he had gotten home but Harry was now too big so after some temper tantrums from Dudley Harry had gotten the spare room. His mind drifted from his charms home work as his thoughts took a darker turn, Draco had not communicated to him like he had promised. 

Harry scowled mentally and tuned back in to the people sitting at the table as he heard the tone in his Uncles voice change. It was something about having important clients coming over for dinner again and he tuned out again already knowing the routine off by heart and the correct responses to his Uncles commands and threats. Some how the family already knew about the restriction on under aged wizards not using magic but they were still weary of him, so besides the usual taunts and doubling his chores they had not yet raised a fist against him or broken anything yet, something that Harry was grateful for besides the spare room, but Harry just knew it would not last.

They finally finished breakfast and Harry started on the dishes before starting to clean the rest of the house and garden with Aunt Petunia following him around criticizing all his mistakes even if there weren't any and making him do several of the same jobs over again. It was half past seven in the evening when at last, exhausted, he heard Aunt Petunia calling him. 

“Get in here! And walk on the newspaper!” 

Harry moved gladly into the shade of the gleaming kitchen. On top of the fridge stood tonight’s   
pudding: a huge mound of whipped cream and sugared violets. A loin of roast pork was sizzling   
in the oven. 

“Eat quickly! The Masons will be here soon!” 

Aunt Petunia, pointing to two slices of bread and a lump of cheese on the kitchen table. She was already wearing a salmon-pink cocktail dress. Harry washed his hands and bolted down his pitiful supper. The moment he had finished, Aunt Petunia whisked away his plate. 

“Upstairs! Hurry!” 

As he passed the door by the living room, Harry caught a glimpse of Uncle Vernon and Dudley in   
bow ties and dinner jackets. He had only just reached the upstairs landing when the door bell   
rang and Uncle Vernon’s furious face appeared at the foot of the stairs. 

“Remember, boy — one sound —” 

Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on   
his bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it. If he had not visited the Malfoy's he would have yelled in shock.

“Why is there a house elf on my bed?”

The little creature slipped off the bed and bowed lowly to the boy,

“I is Dobby sir, I is a Malfoy house elf come with message from Master Draco sir.”

Down stairs he could hear the guests arriving but he paid no attention to them. Some thing in his chest lifted at the little beings words. He had not been forgotten by his only friend. He sank down in the one arms chair by his desk feeling suddenly light headed and Whisper feeling His humans mood slunk on to his lap in the form of a cat and started purring. The house elf shifted nervously fingering the bottom of his pillow case.

“Not that I’m not pleased to meet you, but er.... what was the message Draco wanted to send me?” 

“Oh, yes, sir, Dobby has come to tell you, sir… it is difficult, sir… Dobby wonders where to begin…”

The house elf's fidgeting grew worse and it made Harry wish the elf would calm down or he'd never get the message, 

“Sit down and tell me the message calmly.”

To his horror, the elf burst into tears — very noisy tears. 

“S-sit down!” he wailed. “Never… never ever… been asked to sit down before......by a wizard!!!” 

Harry thought he heard the voices downstairs falter. He cringed at the noise Dobby was making. He had to shut him up and fast or there would be hell to pay. He wondered why the heck Draco had sent this thing to him. It was more trouble than it was worth.

“Dobby be quiet there are muggles in the house and if they see you we will both be in trouble and I'll get a beating. Please be quiet.”

Whisper snarled flashing it's fangs at the little being, shocking the other into silence.

“Now Dobby, why did Draco send you?”

Dobby opened and closed his mouth a couple of times,

“Master Harry is not to get angry. Is not Master Draco's fault. But bad Minister Wizards keep coming to the house looking for illegal dark things. Master Draco says that he is wanting Master Harry to come and stay but might cause problem. Bad wizards not sent by Minister but by Warlock of Wizards, sir. They keeps on asking question about you. Stupid Wizards won't find anything though, hidden too well for stupid wizards to find.”

Dobby suddenly shook his head. Then, without warning, he leapt up and started banging his head furiously on the window sill, 

“Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!”

Harry hissed in fear at the noise, springing up and pulling Dobby back onto the bed.

“Don’t make so much noise they'll hear you— what are you doing?” 

“Dobby had to punish himself, sir. Dobby almost spoke of the secrets of his family. A house elf must never speak of family secrets, sir…” 

There was a silence broken only by the chink of knives and forks from downstairs and the distant   
rumble of Uncle Vernon’s voice. 

“Look Dobby. Tell Draco not to worry and I'll see him when term starts. Tell him I understand.”

Dobby's eyes filled with tears again and he began to wail again,

“Master Harry is such a good friend to Master Draco. Such an understanding wizard, Master Draco is so lucky to have met you.”

A sudden silence fell downstairs. Two seconds later Harry, heart thudding madly, heard Uncle   
Vernon coming into the hall, calling, 

“Dudley must have left his television on again, the little tyke!” 

Harry and Dobby froze before Harry grabbed the elf's scruff and stuffed Dobby into the closet, shutting the door, and flinging himself onto the bed just as the door handle turned. 

“What — the —devil— are — you — doing? You’ve just ruined the punch line of my Japanese golfer joke… One more sound and you’ll wish you’d never been born, boy! One more bang, One one sign of your existence and I'll make sure you can not speak or wave your stick ever again, under stood!!!!” 

He stomped flat-footed from the room. Shaking, Harry let Dobby out of the closet. 

“Now look what happened, I will never hear the end of it. Please, Dobby just leave before things get worse.”

Dobby ears drooped and he shook his head sadly,

“Master Draco said I is to serve you. A Lord is needing a house elf, sir. Dobby is a hard working house elf. He is happy to do anything Master Harry wants. Dobby is going to show Master Harry by punishing stupid muggles for threatening him.”

“Dobby, No!!”

Before Harry could move, Dobby had darted to the bedroom door, pulled it open, and sprinted   
down the stairs. Mouth dry, stomach lurching, Harry sprang after him, trying not to make a sound. He jumped the last six steps, landing catlike on the hall carpet, looking around for Dobby. From the dining room he heard Uncle Vernon saying,

“…tell Petunia that very funny story about those American plumbers, Mr. Mason. She’s been dying to hear…” 

Harry ran up the hall into the kitchen and felt his stomach disappear. Aunt Petunia’s masterpiece of a pudding, the mountain of cream and sugared violets, was floating up near the ceiling. On top of a cupboard in the corner crouched Dobby. 

“No,” croaked Harry. “Please… they’ll kill me…” 

“Bad muggles threatening a friend of Master Draco. They is needing punished.”

The pudding fell to the floor with a heart-stopping crash. Cream splattered the windows and   
walls as the dish shattered. With a crack like a whip, Dobby vanished.


	2. 2

There were screams from the dining room and Uncle Vernon burst into the kitchen to find Harry,   
rigid with shock, covered from head to foot in Aunt Petunia’s pudding. At first, it looked as though Uncle Vernon would manage to gloss the whole thing over. 

“Just our nephew —very disturbed — meeting strangers upsets him, so we kept him upstairs…”

He shooed the shocked Masons back into the dining room, promised Harry he would flay him to   
within an inch of his life when the Masons had left, and handed him a mop. Aunt Petunia dug   
some ice cream out of the freezer and Harry, still shaking, started scrubbing the kitchen clean. 

…............................................................................................................................................................

Lucius and His wife stood silently as their Manor was once again invaded by incompetents waving a piece of paper at them claiming now of all things, Misuse of Muggle Artefacts. They had had the Department of Dark Artefacts, the Department of Illegal Creatures, the Department of Illegal Potions and a raid by the Auras all with in the last three weeks. A red head stood by the family as several others rummaged through a collection of papers. Lord Malfoy sneered,

“Well Arthur your really not helping your career with this farce. Your superiors are really scrapping the barrel with you aren’t they. You do realise that at the next Wizengamot gathering I will be addressing the issue of abuse of power by your sponsor harassing a Noble of the Realm with out any proof.”

The head of the department of misuse of Muggle Artefacts stiffened,

“You can not prove any thing Lord Malfoy. The tip off was anonymous and it my job to follow up all claims of misuse.”

Lord Malfoy's lip curled,

“You really are a fool Arthur. Your family has lost so much already due to your stupidity it would be a shame for you to loose any thing else. I believe you are the only one in your... ahem...family with a job. It would be such a shame for you to loose that as well. Now if your companions have finished breaking things in my house I must ask you to leave. I have an appointment with the Minister about these goings on and a bill to write out for all the damages that have occurred, I am sure he will be most displeased.”

Mr Weasley's face turned red and he clenched his fists in anger,

“I will take your words under advisement Mr Malfoy.”

“Oh and Arthur, Please inform Mr Dumbledore that these threats are not going to scare me off from the issue of Lord Potter's well-being and health. I will keep on pursuing the matter until it is resolved. Have a good day.”

…............................................................................................................................................................

Harry bit back a groan as the bones in his leg snapped back in to place. It had been three days since his uncle had beaten him in to unconsciousness and barred his widow and locked his room. He felt his face gingerly and winced at the pain in his left cheek bone. Magic could only heal so much damage over a short time with out draining him completely. 

Whisper sat by his head, hissing comfortingly and nuzzling his hair with his snout. When his Uncle had thrown the unconscious boy in to his room Whisper had tried to kill the obnoxious man but Vernon had slammed the door closed too quickly for the reptile to exact his revenge. Whisper eyed the cat flap that the Dursley's had installed to feed Harry as a means of getting retribution but he was loathed to leave his Masters side while the boy was in such pain.

Harry had finally fallen into an uneasy sleep filled with dreams of cages and monsters gaping at him through the bars. He groaned as someone shook him gently from his half nightmarish sleep and opened his blurred eyes,

“Oh, Harry I am so sorry. I would never have sent the house elf if I had known what would happen. Please wake up we have come to rescue you.”

Harry peered at the shapes in the room his eyes making out the shapes of two figures and a small hunched figure in the moon light. He reached for his glasses and grunted in pain as his ribs protested at the movement. The figure shaking him saw the trouble and gently reached over and put the glasses on his face,

“Draco? I thought Dobby said, it was to dangerous for you to come and see me. What are you doing here?”

The larger figure moved slightly and Harry realise that Malfoy senior was there as well. Blank faced the older man took in the appearance of the room and the metal features that adorned the window and door,

“I thought my son was exaggerating when he came saying his house elf claimed that you were beaten and locked away in your room like a common criminal. Filthy creatures treating a child in such a way. Can you move Harry? We do not have much time as the wards around the house have been triggered and have alerted some one, so we need to go now. Dobby has already taken your trunk from downstairs and it is in my pocket.”

Harry still confused at what was happening moved slowly off the bed with Draco steadying him as his leg was still to weak to hold his weight. He held out his arm and allowed Whisper to climb on to his shoulders as a series of cracking sounds were heard out side the house. Lord Malfoy held out his cane for the two boy's and made a shooing gesture to the house elf who promptly disappeared,

“Hold tight Harry, this is a port key to one of our cottages in the countryside. You should be safe there with Draco for the time being. It seems our time is up. Domum fidelem.”('safe house' in Latin).

Two seconds after they disappeared the door was blown open by a wanded figure accompanied by the screams and roars of an enraged and terrified Dursley family.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Dumbledore stared fixedly at the crate of potions on his desk. They had not come cheaply but they were guaranteed to work. Life would have been easier if Severus had been willing to make them but that would have led to questions on why the Headmaster needed them. If only Harry had been sorted in to Griffindor than this would have been so much easier to dose the boy with them. 

He had already spoken to Mrs Weasley about the match between Harry and her daughter, needless to say she had been thrilled as had Ginny her only daughter when she had heard some of the adults plan. He reached in to a bowl and withdrew a lemon drop and started to absent-mindedly sucking on it stroking his beard. He huffed as his hand felt the roughness of split ends and he started to mutter curses under his breath remembering his humiliation earlier that summer.

Every year there was an international facial hair competition which Albus attended each year incognito, as he did not want his tremendous fame to sway the judges decision until after the judging. He held his beard up to eye level and started to mutter again. To his eternal shame the judges had only taken a cursory glance at him before moving past. Perhaps he had disguised him self to well and they did not recognise him behind the fake nose and goggle glasses. How was he to get people to start swearing by his beard instead of Merlin's if there was no recognition in official circles as him having the best beard. 

He startled as an alarm went off in his office and one of the silver instruments on his shelf started to flash at him. Some thing magical was happening at the Dursley's house and it was a wizard judging by the power of the alarm. How the hell had some one found the brat-who-lived, this was not good at all. Lord Malfoy was already sniffing too close to the truth and his men had not scared him off the scent as they were supposed to, useless fools.

The magical pulse showed it was only one wizard maybe two at the most and Albus sighed in relief as he call some of the others to go with him to secure the premises and either obliterate or dispose of the threat. He ran out side towards an apparition point hoping to be in time and thundered down the street to the Dursley residence with several of his underlings following him. Ignoring the screams that followed him as he burst in to the bed room only to find it empty of Harry and the after smell of port key magic. 

“DAMN!!!!!!!!”.

…............................................................................................................................................................ 

Harry had to admit the cottage was nice, very nice if it could be called a cottage. It had a thatched roof but Harry was sure a standard cottage did not have twelve bed rooms, two dinning rooms, a conservatory/ green house for exotic plants, a library, a quiddich pitch and a maze. But it was the Malfoy's after all and they liked their comforts. There was also no less than three house elves happy and willing to carry out every wish the boys could think of.

The Malfoy's personal healer had nearly had a fit where she was brought to examine Harry and had drugged and magicked him up to the gill with potions and stabilising charms. The healer also mentions that only passive magic seemed to work on the boy as the sleeping spell that the healer had used seemed to have no effect on the boy. This strange ability was ignored for the moment as there were more pressing matter to attend to. Lucius had demanded a copy of the healers record of Harry's state and had left to file a report in the ministry. Harry was confined to bed with strict orders to not over exert himself.

He spent the time in bed finishing the last of his over due homework with a happy Draco curled up beside him reading a book or dozing quietly listening to the scratch of Harry's quill on parchment. Since his rescue from the Dursley's, Draco had become even more clingy and attention seeking then ever before much to Harry's amusement and slight exasperation. Draco had his own personal room at the cottage which Draco told Harry was bigger and better than his room, but every morning when Harry woke up a mop of blond hair and a lithe body had some how made its way in to his bed over night. When questioned the blond had mealy sniffed and said as he owned the cottage it was his right to sleep where ever he wanted and then had gone on to ignore the other boy for about five minutes. 

…............................................................................................................................................................

The Department Head of Under-aged Wizards and Improper use of Magic, Mafalda Hopkirk stood in the Ministers office reading the report of one Lord Potter and was furious at the appalling condition of the child. The Minister and Lucius sat quietly as the woman read the final healers note,

“How the hell did we not pick this up. Who in Merlin's name is the poor boys magical guardian!!!! I'll string them up and garrotte them myself for their negligence. I here by proclaim that the boy is now the ward of Lord Lucius Malfoy until the matter is resolved.”

The Minister nodded in agreement as Lord Malfoy had a look of grim satisfaction on his face at the verdict. Let Dumbledore try any of his tricks now and Lucius would have enough influence to condemn the man for blocking the removal of an abused child. He was still unsure of Albus' interest in the boy besides being the child-who-lived but there was something very messy going on. The Minister had also promised to send a letter to the muggle child services to see what punishment could be done from their end.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Dumbledore raged quietly in his office as his spies brought him the bad news of Harry's transfer from his guardianship. There had been no Ministry official banging down his door so he guessed his role of ex-guardian had not been discovered. He would have to keep his head down for now until the boy was back in his grasp at the school. He stroked the vials of potions gently, soon everything would be as he wanted it to be. 

…............................................................................................................................................................

Lucius sat in his office deep in thought, He had left the boys at the cottage as they seemed happier there after he had told them the news. Draco had to stifle a squeal and did not look the slightest bit ashamed at the older Malfoy's look of remand for not acting like a Malfoy, and the solemn nod and thankyou from the other boy. The raids still had left a bad taste in the Lords mouth and he plotted revenge on the culprits, after all the was an ex-Slytherin and such insults could not remain unanswered.

He sauntered over to his secret private collection of less than legal artefact and an evil smirk flickered across his face as he fingered a book feeling the dark magic deliciously licking at his fingers. This would do nicely especially as it would most certainly ruin the reputation of a certain Blood traitor, mud blood loving light Wizard family who needed to be reminded of their place in the wizarding world. Just think of the scandal if one of his children was found to have a dark artefact in their possession. He slipped the book in to his pocket and left the secret room to have a leisurely lunch with his wife and catch up on the news his wife loved to gather from her circle of friends.


	3. Chapter 3

The house elves woke them all early the following Wednesday, Lord and Lady Malfoy were sat in the morning room drinking tea while waiting for the two boys. After a quick half a dozen bacon   
sandwiches each, they pulled on their over robes and Lady Malfoy took a ornate urn off the mantelpiece and peered inside. 

“We’re running low inform the house elves it needs to be restocked. Guests first! After you, Harry dear!” And she offered him the Urn. 

Harry stared at them all watching him. 

“What am I supposed to do?” 

Draco blinked and looked at his mother,

“ Remember we travelled by car last time we went to Diagon alley at Christmas. He’s never travelled by floo powder before. Sorry, Harry, I forgot. Floo powder’s a lot quicker than normal travel except for apparition but we are under age so this is the best way. Just follow my lead.” 

He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the urn, stepped up to the fire, and threw the   
powder into the flames. With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than the chimney breast, who stepped right into it, shouted, 

“Diagon Alley!” 

Harry watch carefully and took a pinch from the urn mimicking his blond friend,

“And keep your elbows tucked in and your eyes shut Harry. ” 

He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the   
fire felt like a warm breeze; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash. 

“D-Dia-gon Alley,” he coughed. 

It felt as though he was being sucked down a giant drain. He seemed to be spinning very fast —   
the roaring in his ears was deafening — he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green   
flames made him feel sick —something hard knocked his elbow and he tucked it in tightly, still   
spinning and spinning — now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face — squinting   
through his glasses he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms   
beyond — his bacon sandwiches were churning inside him — he closed his eyes again wishing it   
would stop, and then… 

He fell, face forward, onto cold stone and felt the bridge of his glasses snap. Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, he got gingerly to his feet, holding his broken glasses up to his eyes. He was quite alone, but where he was, he had no idea. All he could tell was that he was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard’s shop — but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list. 

A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a blood stained pack of cards, and a   
staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stared down from the walls, an assortment of human bones   
lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling. Even worse, the dark,   
narrow street Harry could see through the dusty shop window was definitely not Diagon Alley. 

The sooner he got out of here, the better. Nose still stinging where it had hit the hearth, Harry   
made his way swiftly and silently toward the door, but before he’d got halfway toward it, two   
people appeared on the other side of the glass — and one of them was the very person Harry   
wanted to meet when he was lost, covered in soot, and wearing broken glasses: Draco Malfoy and his father. 

He sighed in relief and gave a half hearted wave at his blond friend who if his father had not gripped his arm would have run and thrown his arms around the bedraggled raven. Lord Malfoy raised his wand and Harry's clothes and glasses were instantly fixed,

“ It is fortunate Mr Potter that you only went one grate to far. I would hate to have to explain to the Minister how you got lost n the floo network due to an unfortunate accident.”

Draco pouted at his fathers glare,

“It's not Harry's fault it was an accident. Anyway you promised to buy me a present, and can I be on the Quiddich team this year? The Nimbus Two Thousand and One was out last week and It is the coolest broom ever.”

Lord Malfoy looked exasperatedly at his only son,

“Why don't you and Harry go and look for your mother while I sort out some things with Mr Borgin. With the damned Ministry sniffing around I need to get rid of some of the more noticeable items.”

The boy's nodded and made their way in to the bigger area known as Diagon Alley where they met up with Mrs Malfoy who escorted them to the bank so the boys could fill their money bags before going in search of some entertainment. As they exited the bank much to their displeasure they spotted a sea of red heads and what looked like Granger's parents in a huddle around the ice cream parlour all making a huge din. Draco's and Harry's lips sneered at the group as they passed them preferring to go to a slightly higher class of café that served a very good coffee and cake selection as the sandwiches that they had eaten felt a long time ago. After morning tea they collected the rest of their needed items for Hogwarts leaving the book shop till last as Draco jokingly ribbed his companion, 

“It is bad enough trying to get Harry out of a library let alone a book shop. Should have been a Ravenclaw.” 

Harry just sneered at his companion unable to put together a strong defence to the contrary. Even Lady Malfoy had a twinkle in her eye at her sons words knowing Harry long enough to know it was true. Lord Malfoy found them just as they were about to enter the packed store and they entered together taking over from Lady Malfoy who wished to get a new dress fitted. A line of people were already there in front of a desk with what looked like the floosiest git any of them had ever seen. All the Malfoy's and Harry's mouths turn down into a sneer at the spectacle as Lord Malfoy imperiously called an assistant over with their school books. 

Unfortunately the shop got even more crowded as a sea of red surged in to the shop and one of them bumped in to Draco. Ron, looked at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe.

“Oh, it’s you. I'm surprised to see you here. I would have thought this shop would have been to lowly for the likes of you, eh?” 

Draco sneered at the other boy. Brushing his arm where the other had touched him,

“Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley. I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those.” 

Ron went as red as a tomato. He dropped his books into a cauldron, and started toward the Malfoy heir, but Hermione and what appeared to be his little sister judging by her red hair, grabbed the back of his jacket. Just as Mr Weasley struggling over with Fred and George who Harry recognised at two master pranksters from school. 

“ Ron,What are you doing? It’s too crowded in here, let’s go outside. Good Lord, is that Harry Potter!!!” 

“Well, well, well — Arthur Weasley.” 

It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco’s shoulder, who had moved protectively next to Harry, sneering in just the same way. 

“Lucius.”

“Busy time at the Ministry, I hear. All those raids… I hope they’re paying you overtime?” 

He reached into the Weasley's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very   
old, very battered copy of A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration. 

“Obviously not. “Dear me, what’s the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don’t even pay you well for it? Perhaps you should think twice about where you allegiances lie” 

Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny. 

“We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy.”

Mr. Malfoy's pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively.

“Clearly. The company you keep, Weasley… and I thought your family could sink no lower.” 

There was a thud of metal as Ginny’s cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at   
Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf. Dozens of heavy spell books came   
thundering down on all their heads; there was a yell of encouragement from the Weasley children, 

“Get him, Dad!” 

Mrs. Weasley was shrieking, 

“No, Arthur, no!”

The crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; 

“Gentlemen, please — please!” cried the assistant, and then, louder than all — 

“Break it up, there, gents, break it up —” 

Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books. In an instant he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools. He was still holding Ginny’s old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice and Harry's quick eyes saw another book slip from the Elder Malfoy's sleeve in to the cauldron.

“Here, girl — take your book — it’s the best your father can give you —” 

Pulling himself out of Hagrid’s grip he beckoned to Draco and Harry and swept from the shop.


	4. Chapter 4

The end of the summer vacation came too quickly for Harry’s liking. He was looking forward to   
getting back to Hogwarts, but his month at the Cottage had been the most relaxing of his life. It was   
difficult not to feel jealous of Draco when he thought of the Dursley's and the sort of welcome he   
could expect next time he turned up on Privet Drive, if he ever went back there again. 

On their last evening, Lady Malfoy who had spent the last week of the holidays at the cottage with them, conjured up a sumptuous dinner that included all of Harry’s favourite things. Then it was time for a last mug of hot chocolate and bed. Draco still insisting that Harry's bed was his to sleep in as he pleased. 

The trip to Hogwarts was unexceptional. Draco's friends quickly found them and soon they were in conversation about the goings on in the summer. Harry did not pay much attention to them as he was not interested in what they had to say. He pulled a couple of books out and tried to read, blocking out the noise of the rest of his house mates. The rest of them used to his anti social ways did not take offence after the customary greetings and salutations left him alone.

The feast was as per usual but with out the sight of a certain male annoying red head on the Griffindor table. Draco remarked loudly at the others absence, claiming that with a new Weasley joining Hogwarts the family could not afford it and had kept the useless one at home, earning growls of dislike from the gold and red table and a snotty remark back from Granger.

The next day, however, things started as normal only to go downhill from breakfast in the Great Hall. The four long house tables were laden with tureens of porridge, plates of kippers, mountains of toast, and dishes of eggs and bacon, beneath the enchanted ceiling (today, a dull, cloudy grey). Harry and Draco sat down at the Slytherin table next to Pansy, who had her copy of Voyages with Vampires propped open against a milk jug. It seemed Ron had managed to arrive after all and Professor Snape seemed in a worse mood then usual as he sat at the staff table sending death like glares at the headmaster and the Griffindor table. Rumour had it Ron had stolen a flying car and had driven it to Hogwarts in full sight of Muggles and only gotten a slight punishment from the Headmaster. Harry took a drink of his tea and made a face before putting it aside, it tasted different from usual and he did not care for the taste.

Then as they were heading towards the green houses for their first lesson some one grabbed Harry by the arm it was the incompetent from the book store and their future Defence Professor, Gildroy Lockhart,

“Harry! I’ve been wanting a word — you don’t mind if he’s a couple of minutes late, do you,   
Professor Sprout?” 

Judging by Professor Sprout’s scowl, she did mind, but the man did not give her a chance to reply before closing the door in her face. He turned to Harry his large white teeth gleaming in the sunlight as he shook his head.

“Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry. I am so sorry I did not manage to reach you in the book store. Two famous faces, it would have made the front cover of the Prophet. But you should be use to the fame by now. What a great team we could make you and I. ” 

Completely nonplussed, Harry said nothing. Lockhart reached out to gab his shoulder in a friendly grip and Harry quickly moved out of reach,

“Harry, Harry, Harry, “I understand, once you’ve had that first taste of fame you will naturally to want a bit more — because it is bound to go to your head. I can help guild you in the realm of the super popular and charming.”

Harry gaped at the blond man, speechless,

“Just calm down, all right don't get to exited? Plenty of time for all that when you’re older. Yes, yes, I know what you’re thinking! 'It’s all right for him, he’s an internationally famous wizard already!' But when I was twelve, I was just as much of a nobody as you are now. In fact, I’d say I was even more of a nobody! I mean, a few people have heard of you, haven’t they? All that business with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!” He glanced at the lightning scar on Harry’s forehead. “I know, I know — it’s not quite as good as winning Witch Weekly’s Most Charming Smile Award five times in a row, as I have — but it’s a start, Harry, it’s a start. Give it time and you can be as popular and well liked as I am, with my help of course.”

With that the Prof gave Harry a wink and a nod before leaving a very confused and disturbed Harry standing there for at least a couple of minutes before realising that he had class. He quickly slipped in and was accosted by Draco whining that he had dirt under his nails and mud on his shoes. He whined even harder when a Mandrake bit his finger- claiming it was going to get infected. 

The first defence lesson was a disaster, Harry's normally calm and detached expression was put to the limit as the narcissus of a teacher talked non-stop about himself half the lesson before letting Pixies out of their cage to wreak havoc on the students. They quick vacated the room letting the bone headed Griffindor's clean up the mess but not before Harry had let out a few spells to clear the way to the door leaving a few small blue bodies crushed on the floor. All in all his first day back was not the best and even Draco's brand of wit did not lighten him up any.


	5. Chapter 5

Quiddich season had started and Draco was more insufferable than ever. Due to his nagging Draco's father had not only brought Draco a new broom, but the whole team new brooms immediately guaranteeing Draco a place on the team. With a sigh Harry had accompanied the team to watch their first practice of the season and had been mildly entertained when Ron in a fit of jealous rage had cursed him self to vomit slugs with a broken wand. How could the fool ever think that they could be friends. 

It also seemed another Weasley had joined his gang of stalkers but they were hanging back unlike his first year as if waiting for him to do something. His scar throbs slightly when the girl, Ginny he thought she was called, came near him, but not nearly as bad as when the previous defence teacher was around in the school. He still did not like the attention of the new comer. The way she looked at him was just creepy, and the hungry look in the female red-head's eyes when she thought he was not looking made him shudder and want to hide. Fortunately something had been distracting her recently and her gaze was less frightening and hungry.  
…............................................................................................................................................................

Ginny new friend was fascinating, He was witty, clever, observant, attentive and she was sure very handsome. She wondered often if Harry had all the qualities that Tom had. He had quickly became her closest confident much like the imaginary friends she had had when she was a child, but this one was real. He also knew all the answers to her homework and girl problems, they would spend hours just writing to each other about every thing. She especially liked the tone of jealousy in Tom's writing when she mentioned Harry and their future plans together. One thing she found strange was when she came back from dinner, sometimes the book felt slightly damp and an almost sweet smell wafted from the pages but it was a magic book so she did not pay attention to it. More interested in getting to know Tom better. 

Her dreams had also gotten more hazy since meeting Tom and she could never quite remember what they were about when she woke up, but it did not matter for all her thoughts were now focused on dear Tom. She began to resent the times she was not able to write to Tom and she began to snap her new friends and eat less only going to the Great Hall when Tom insisted she needed to eat. He was so caring looking after her health while Harry did not even spare her a glance.

She smiled the first time in days at Tom's promise when she had woken up that morning, He said he had some thing special to show her when she got to her room this evening. She was looking forward to it as any time with Tom was special, if only she was not so tired all the time. More than once she had fallen asleep half way talking to Tom, she always apologised and Tom always sweetly forgave her with sweet words of comfort and joy.

The diary dripped black ink slightly as Ginny lay asleep the diary on her chest sinking through her clothes and staining her skin in different runes that disappeared after a few moments. The diary glowed slightly as it absorbed the small witches ambient power into it's leaves.

' Just a little more power my love and we can be together forever joined in one body and soul. Just a little more and we can rid the world of the unclean and set the world free. Come little one there are things to do.'

Ginny sat up in bed, hands clutched around the diary of Tom Riddle, eyes blank. The book whispered gently to her as she quietly made her way to the common room and out into the school. 

…............................................................................................................................................................

Harry slunk along the corridors blending into the shadows happy to be alone with his thoughts once more.

'He liked Draco, He really did, but sometimes the boy exasperated Harry to the end of his patience. It was bad enough over the summer but Draco had grown even more clingy and whinny after the arrival of the Weasley girl.' 

Harry paused at that thought, 

'He'd never cared for anyone enough to feel exasperation with them, what made Draco so different? Strange.' 

He liked being out at this late at night, even the teachers who patrolled the halls were either in their rooms relaxing or sleeping like the rest of the students. The absence of noise helped his mind to roam free and allowed him to hear the silence that was Hogwart's. It felt warm, like sliding into a hot bath after a cold day. If he concentrated he could almost pick up the memories the halls and corridors had collected over their very long existence.

Harry gasped sharply as the silence was broken,

“Come… come to me… Let me rip you.. .Let me tear you.. .Let me kill you…” 

Harry strained his ears to try and hear the voice again. It sounded like when he occasionally talked to snakes. But what would a snake be doing in Hogwarts? He shook his head and decided that he had had enough time on his own and made his way quickly through every secret passage and short cut he knew of glancing over his shoulder every so often, back to his warm bed with an even warmer Draco sprawled in it.

…............................................................................................................................................................

The Headmaster looked over the collection of empty vials chewing on his beard ferociously. 

'All that money wasted on useless potions. Harry had been dosed with enough of them to make a dragon fall in love with a mermaid. He had watched the boy like a hawk for any changes in attitude to the youngest Weasley, ready to swoop in and snatch the boy's loyalty, but so far nothing. No declaration of love or passion in the slightest. The brats personality still resembled an ice burg to any one besides that useless Slytherin pure blood brat. He had hoped that their conversation at the end of last year would open the boy up more to his guidance but Potter had spare him no more than a polite greeting when they 'accidentally' met around the school. Other methods were needed before the damage was irreversible and the boy was lost to him forever. Perhaps a little adjustment could work it's self to his advantage. The pure blood might have some use after all.'

He absent-mindedly took a potion out of it case and held it up to the light of his office.

' It was risky as the boy's godfather was the potions master but if it got Harry to notice the younger Weasley or split the two boys friendship up, either scenario worked........ it was for the 'Greater Good' after all.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Over the next few days Harry kept his ears open for the strange voice opting not to leave the dorms after lights out. But the only sounds he heard were the ghosts talking about the death day of the Griffindor ghost and not being allowed on the headless hunt. The talk interested Harry slightly at the thought of a 'death day' but it was soon over taken by his new owl ordered book on Arithmancy.

Draco on the other hand was busy as well. Halloween was coming up or as the more traditionally educated witches and wizards called it Samhain which remembered the dead. The headmaster had tried to ban the practice from the school but the board of governors and the parents had vetoed it. So while the rest of the school enjoyed a feast in the Great hall those who followed the old ways quietly made their way out side. 

It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honour the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort. Tradition also teaches that the aid of spirits and guides from the other world was easily enlisted at this time, so in the increasing moonlight of longer nights, many used this time to hone their psychic and divinatory skills, especially with regard to love and marriage with made some of the younger Slytherin girls blush and huddle in to groups while eyeing their potential future husbands.

Originally known as the "Feast of the Dead" this sabbat was celebrated by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead".. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of the ancestors and loved ones to the family home. Extra chairs were set at the head and foot of the table and around the hearth for the unseen guests. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips and pumpkins were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos.   
Harry watched with interest as they neared the ritual site. Two fires had been lit in a line parallel to each other like a pathway. Tables had been set with simple foods by the fires and Harry noticed that a few tables had also been set up out of the fire light in the shadows empty of food and drink. 

Draco had explained the ritual several days before. The fires were a representation of the pathway to the Summer land or after life. A person walked between the fires and cast a personal gift in to the flames as an offering to those who had reach that land. Food was also taken from the table and placed on the dark tables for those spirits or other worldly folk who wished to visit the living on this day. The food also attracted the trapped dead who were lost and needed the fires to guide them to the after life.


	6. Chapter 6

Harry had thought hard about the offering he wished to give. He did not have much in the way of personal possessions and what he did have he was loathed to give away. Draco had already shown him his offering. It was an embroidered cloth with the Malfoy crest, high lighted in precious metals and top quality thread almost tapestry like. Harry had finally thought of his gift earlier that day and had spent some time and a little pain making them. He had collected some hair off his head and had lengthened them with a charm. He had them twisted some silver wire around the two bundles of hair into two identical bracelets. One for his mother and one for his father, their names inscribed on each. Draco approved.

The ritual ended the same time as the feast in the hall and the boys made their way back to the castle deep in their own thoughts accompanied by Crabbe and Gyole. People were starting to leave the Great hall from their own muggle festivities, not wanting to be trapped the four Slytherin's decided to make a detour to get to their common room going the long way round. 

And then Harry heard it. 

“… rip… tear… kill…” 

It was the same voice, the same cold, murderous voice he had heard before. He stumbled to a halt, clutching at the stone wall, listening with all his might, looking around, squinting up and down the dimly lit passageway. 

“Harry, what’re you —?” 

“It’s that voice again — shut up a minute —” 

“… soo hungry… for so long…” 

Draco and his body guards froze as Harry shushed them impatiently,

“Listen!” 

“… kill… time to kill…” 

The voice was growing fainter. Harry was sure it was moving away — moving upward. A mixture of fear and curiosity gripped him as he stared at the dark ceiling; how could it be moving upward? Was it a phantom snake, to whom stone ceilings didn’t matter? 

“This way.” 

He began to walk fast, up the stairs, into the entrance hall with a puzzled Draco, Gyole and Crabbe following him. It was no good hoping to hear anything here, the babble of talk from the students still socialising at the Halloween feast was echoing out of the Great Hall. Harry moved up the marble staircase to the first floor, the other Slytherin's clattering behind him. 

“Harry, what’re we —” 

“SHH!” 

Harry strained his ears. Distantly, from the floor above, and growing fainter still, he heard the voice:

“… I smell blood… I SMELL BLOOD!” 

His stomach lurched — 

“It’s going to kill someone!” 

Ignoring Draco's and the others bewildered faces, he ran up the next flight of steps three at a time, trying to listen over his own pounding footsteps — Harry hurtled around the whole of the second floor, Draco, Crabbe and Gyole panting behind him, not stopping until they turned a corner into the last, deserted passage. Draco frowned at his best mate,

“Harry, what was that all about? I couldn’t hear anything…” 

But Gyole gave a sudden grunt, pointing down the corridor. 

“There....”

Something was shining on the wall ahead. They approached slowly, squinting through the   
darkness. Foot-high words had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in   
the light cast by the flaming torches. 

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE!!!!!!! 

“What’s that thing — hanging underneath?” 

As they edged nearer, Harry almost slipped — there was a large puddle of water on the floor; they inched toward the message, eyes fixed on a dark shadow beneath it. All three of them realized what it was at once, and leapt backward with a splash. Mrs. Norris, the caretaker’s cat, was hanging by her tail from the torch bracket. She was stiff as a board, her eyes wide and staring. Draco gulped moving slowly backward followed by his two shadows,

“Perhaps were should leave and try to forget we ever saw this.”

It was almost to late as the rest of the students stampeded from the Great Hall as the last of the feasters finished. Harry grabbed his companions and shoved them in to a darkened alcove just as the first to appear on the scene where his two least favourite people.

The chatter, the bustle, the noise died suddenly as the people in front spotted the hanging cat, companion of Filch the caretaker of the castle. Ron, and Hermione stood alone, in the middle of the corridor, as silence fell among the mass of students pressing forward to see the grisly sight. Then someone shouted through the quiet. 

“Enemies of the Heir, beware! You’ll be next, Mud bloods!” 

It was Draco Malfoy finally regaining his nerve from his shock. He had pushed to the front of the crowd, his cold eyes alive, his usually bloodless face flushed, as he grinned at the sight of the hanging, immobile cat. Harry quietly stepped up next to him flanked by Crabbe and Gyole. 

Hermione narrowed her eye's at the quartet,

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Ron puffed up his chest in confrontation,

“Don't listen to that Dark spawn, Hermione. He does not know what he is talking about.” 

Just then Dumbledore arrived on the scene just before the inevitable fight broke out, followed by a number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept past the crowd and detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket. 

“Come with me, Mr Malfoy. You as well, Mr Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger.” 

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly. 

“My office is nearest, Headmaster — just upstairs — please feel free —” 

“Thank you, Gildroy,” 

The silent crowd parted to let them pass. Lockhart, looking excited and important, hurried after   
Dumbledore; so did Professors McGonagall and Snape. As they entered Lockhart’s darkened office there was a flurry of movement across the walls; Harry saw several of the Lockharts in the pictures dodging out of sight, their hair in rollers and what Harry thought to be make up sets and lipstick. 

The real Lockhart lit the candles on his desk and stood back. Dumbledore lay Mrs. Norris on the polished surface and began to examine her. Harry, Draco, Ron, and Hermione exchanged sneering looks at each other and sank into chairs outside the pool of candlelight and as far way from each other as possible, watching. Dumbledore finally looked up blinking,

“She has been Petrified, But how, I cannot say…”

Harry almost rolled his eyes at the blond teachers loud comment,

“Ah! I thought so! I remember the time......”

Ron turning his blotched hateful face to Draco.

“Ask him!”  
.   
“No second year could have done this, it would take Dark Magic of the most advanced —” 

Ron spat, his pouchy face purpling.

“He did it, he did it! You heard what he said to Hermione. 'Enemies of the Heir, beware! You’ll be next'- He knows something and they weren't at the feast. They did it!!!!!” 

Snape spoke from the shadows,

“If I might speak, Headmaster, Mr Potter and Mr Malfoy were not responsible, I can state for a fact that the boy's were attending the ceremony out side and had only just returned. Potter and his friends were attracted by the noise or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now it is getting late and my students need their rest.”

Dumbledore was giving Harry a searching look. His twinkling light-blue gaze made Harry feel   
as though he were being X-rayed. The look on the headmaster's face was taut if the old man wanted to refute the potion master's statement, but in the end he turned away frowning,

“Very well Severus, take the students away. We will talk later.”

Over the next few days the school hummed like a bee hive each student having their own theories on what happened. When Filch found out about his cat had been petrified students swore they could hear his scream of anguish three floors away. Ron's voice was often heard in the Hall blaming Draco or Harry for the incident. Harry was also interested in the Chamber and the voice he had heard. One night in the common room he asked Draco what the Chamber was. The Common room grew quiet as Draco clear his throat and preened at the attention,

“All I know is from a story my father told me,   
You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago — the precise   
date is uncertain — by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses   
are named after them: Godric Griffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar   
Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when   
magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution.” 

He paused, gazed imperiously around the room to make sure everyone's attention was on him, and continued. 

“For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed   
signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up   
between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be   
more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning   
should be kept within all-magic families and even the most talented half-bloods after careful vetting. He disliked taking students of full Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy and ignorant of our ways. After a while,there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Griffindor, and Slytherin left the school.” 

Draco paused again, pursing his lips, looking like Slytherin leaving was the greatest tragedy ever. He carried on, 

“Reliable historical sources tell us this much, But these honest facts have been obscured by the enlarged legend of the Chamber of Secrets. Anyway, The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the guardian within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic, as it should be.” 

Harry frowned,

“What guardian?”

Draco shrugged,

“All father said, it was a creature that could only be controlled by the heir of the Slytherin house.”

The rest of the common room fell to talking quietly about the new information. They all glanced at each other wearily as if the heir was hiding directly amongst them and Harry guessed He or She could quiet easily be. Harry opened a new book, as long as the heir did not target him or Draco it was of little interest now he had most of the facts. He still wondered what animal was kept in the Chamber and what the strange voice only he could hear came from.


	7. Chapter 7

Life went on, lesson were taught and there was silence from the mysterious voice. Draco had quizzed him on it but Harry could not tell him much, eventually Draco had just called him 'mad' and had forgotten about it. Lockhart's lessons were getting worse as he kept on dragging Harry to the front of the class for demonstrations from his book. But after the third time grabbing Harry, Whisper had bitten the irritating man causing his hand to go purple and swell up. After a trip to the school nurse Harry was not bothered again.

The talk turned to Quiddich and Draco's new brooms. Harry sighed as he was blackmailed in to going and his books confiscated by his all too loving room mate. He had to admit that Draco was a good player even with the advantage of the new brooms and the quiddich clothes did not hurt his figure in the slightest. He did sighed in profound relief when Draco finally caught the snitch as the rest of the house were deafening him with their shouts of encouragement. 

The next day there was another report of an attack on a first year Griffindor who was out after curfew. Draco looked half scared and half please when Pansy Parkinson reported the news over breakfast. Harry could almost smell the fear from the other houses as everyone started to walk around in groups. Even the Slytherin's stayed close together wearing as much green and silver as possible to deter the mysterious attacker from going after them. 

Draco had reported to his father and received a letter in return that it might be a good idea to stay at the school that Christmas and monitor the situation. Draco had grumped for a couple of days before Harry pointed out that he had already signed up to stay so he would not be alone. That had gotten him a hug from the blond and Harry awkwardly returned it much to Draco's delight. 

A week later, Harry, Blaise, and Pansy were walking across the entrance hall when they saw a   
small knot of people gathered around the notice board, reading a piece of parchment that had just   
been pinned up. Two older Slytherin's beckoned them over, looking excited. 

“They’re starting a Duelling Club! First meeting tonight! I wouldn’t mind duelling lessons; they might come in handy one of these days…” 

Blaise snorted in disbelief but he too read the sign with interest. 

“What, you reckon Slytherin’s guardian can duel?” 

Much to the others shock Harry was all for it, claiming it was a good way to test what they had learnt, so at eight o’clock that evening they sauntered back to the Great Hall. The long dining tables had vanished and a golden stage had appeared along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black once more and most of the school seemed to be packed beneath it, all carrying their wands and looking excited. Most of boy's groaned as they saw who took the centre stage, followed by the squeals of his fan girls. Bloody Lockhart flashed a sickeningly toothy smile posing to attract the students attention.

“ Yes it's me, autographs will be given later and a signed book to the winner, but first let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape, He tells me he knows a tiny little bit about duelling himself and has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration before we begin. Now, I don’t want any of you youngsters to worry — you’ll still have your Potions master when I’m through with him, never fear!” 

Draco sniggered and whispered in Harry's ear,

“Uncle Sev's going to murder him and make it look like an accident. Stupid git doesn't stand a chance. I saw a duel between father and Uncle Sev. He wiped the floor with father, who is no slouch at duelling either.”

Harry's lips twitched upwards and watch with interest to see if Draco's claim of accidental murder was going to happen in front of them. Snape’s upper lip was curling. Harry wondered why Lockhart was still smiling; if Snape had been looking at him like that he’d have been running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. Lockhart and Snape turned to face each other and bowed; at least, Lockhart did, with much twirling of his hands, whereas Snape jerked his head irritably. 

Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them. All the while Lockhart was spouting absolute rubbish according to Draco. Harry was slightly disappointed that Snape had only blown the imbecile away and not up, like he had hoped. Several girls squealed afraid he had been injured but the idiot was soon back on his feet even if he seemed less confident then before. 

They were all quickly split in to pairs for their practice duels. Lockhart jigged up and down excitement as he seemingly at random put people together. It had to be random for no one in their right mind would pair two hated rivals together with out blood shed,

“Harry, my boy, come up here with Miss Granger and show us what you got.”

Both nodded to each other giving the minimal courtesy allowed in a duel, wands at the ready.

“Disarm only please, 1...2.........3.”

Harry shot first, dodging the high pressure water the girl sent at him,

“Anteoculatia.”

“Aqua Eructo”

“Ascendio!!!!”

The spell caught Hermione on the shoulder lifting her up in to the air before smacking her back down on the platform. Harry was quick to have the next spell ready,

“Accio wand.”

Harry bowed holding both wands to his fallen opponent before stepping off the stage and handing the girls wand to Professor Snape for safety. The Professors mouth sneered as he watched the fallen girl crawl off the stage and retrieve her wand,

“It seems that Mr Potter needs a bigger challenge. Perhaps, some one closer to his grade level. If I might suggest Mr Malfoy for his next challenge.”

The Slytherin's grinned at their Head of House cutting words. All of them were truly tired of the Griffindor duo slandering them at every opportunity and bullying the new first years. Feeling the spot light had been off him long enough Lockhart gestured dramatically for the two to take their places on the platform,

“Wands at the ready!! When I count to three, cast your charms to disarm your opponents — only to disarm them — we don’t want any accidents — one… two… three —” 

Harry swung his wand high, but Malfoy had already started on “two”: His spell hit Harry so hard   
he felt as though he’d been hit over the head with a saucepan. He stumbled, but everything still   
seemed to be working, and wasting no more time,Harry pointed his wand straight at Malfoy and   
shouted, 

“Rictusempra!” 

A jet of silver light hit Malfoy in the stomach and he doubled up, wheezing. Lockhart shouted in alarm over the heads of the battling crowd, as Malfoy sank to his knees; Harry had hit him with a Tickling Charm, and he could barely move for laughing. 

“I said disarm only!”

Harry hung back, with a vague feeling it would be unsporting to bewitch Malfoy while he was on the floor, but this was a mistake; gasping for breath, Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry’s knees, choked, 

“Tarantallegra!” 

the next second Harry’s legs began to jerk around out of his control in a kind of quickstep. Professor Snape sighed,

“You two stop playing around and get serious. Finite Incantatem!”

Snape moved closer to Malfoy, bent down, and whispered something in his ear. Malfoy smirked,   
too. Harry looked up nervously at what the two were planning. Just because Malfoy was his best friend did not mean the other boy would be going easy on him. Malfoy muttered so that Lockhart couldn’t hear him. 

“Scared?” 

“You wish,” 

“Serpensortia!”

The end of his wand exploded. Harry watched, interested in the new spell, as a long black snake shot out of it, fell heavily onto the floor between them, and raised itself, ready to strike. There were screams as the crowd backed swiftly away, clearing the floor. Snape moved forward,

“Don’t move, Potter. I'll get rid of it.”

Harry looked blank for a second turning his eyes on to the snake. Crouching down and snapping his fingers to get the snakes attention. The whole hall went silent as the very poisonous snake calmly slithered up to the boy tongue flicking,

“You taste like a snake, human. Why is that?”

Harry shrugged,

“I have no idea. I don't have as sharp a tongue as you.”

Snape stepped forward, waved his wand, and the snake vanished in a small puff of black smoke.   
Snape, was looking at Harry in an unexpected way: It was a shrewd and calculating look,   
and Harry didn’t like it. He was also dimly aware of an ominous muttering all around the walls.   
Then he felt a tugging on the back of his robes. Draco stared at him with a half mad, half frightened look,

 

“You’re a Parselmouth. Why didn’t you tell me? You can talk to snakes!”

“It never came up in conversation. I accidentally set a boa constrictor on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once — long story — but it was telling me it had never seen Brazil and I sort of set it free without meaning to that was before I knew I was a wizard —” 

Draco repeated faintly trying to cover his shock with a sneer,. 

“A boa constrictor told you it had never seen Brazil?”

Harry frowned, not liking the tone of Draco's voice, 

“So?” 

Professor Snape cleared his throat,

“It’s not a very common gift. Harry, this is a powerful gift from Slytherin himself. You can not blame Mr Malfoy for freaking out slightly.” 

Harry looked around at the terrified room and shrugged uncaring.

Harry lay awake for hours that night. Through a gap in the curtains around his four-poster bed he watched Draco tightly pulled curtains and wondered… 

'Could he be a descendant of Salazar Slithering? He didn’t know anything about his father’s   
family, after all. The Dursley's had always forbidden questions about his wizarding relatives.' 

Quietly, Harry tried to say something in Parseltongue. The words wouldn’t come. It seemed he   
had to be face-to-face with a snake to do it.

Next morning, the snow that had begun in the night had turned into a blizzard so thick that the last Herbology lesson of the term was cancelled: Professor Sprout wanted to fit socks and scarves on the Mandrakes, a tricky operation she would entrust to no one else, now that it was so important for the Mandrakes to grow quickly and revive Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey. 

Harry fretted about this next to the fire in the Slytherin common room, Draco had turned a one eighty on Harry refusing to speak or even look at him. The fire shrank back into it's fire place at the glare Harry sent it at the thought of some one he thought of his best and only friend. He should have figured that their friendship would not last, after all the Dursley's had constantly claimed a freak like him didn't have friends.

“For heaven’s sake, Harry.” 

Pansy snapped exasperated, as one of Blaise's bishops wrestled her knight off his horse and dragged him off the board. 

“Go and find Draco and talk to him if it’s so important to you. He is just jealous that you can speak to snakes and he can not. So stop scaring the fire it's done nothing wrong.” 

Taking her advice Harry got up and left through the portrait hole, wondering where Draco might be. The castle was darker than it usually was and the shadows seemed to swirl around the walls because of the thick, swirling angry snow at every window trying to break in. Shivering, Harry walked past classrooms where lessons were taking place, catching snatches of what was happening within. 

Professor McGonagall was shouting at someone who, by the sound of it, had turned his friend into a badger. Resisting the urge to take a look, Harry walked on by, thinking that Draco might be using his free time to catch up on some work, and deciding to check the library first.

He found Draco at the back of the library where the books on history were kept. Harry watched the other boy for a minute before clearing his throat alerting the other boy to his presents. Draco turned in surprise before realising who was standing there. His face quickly changed as he realised who was standing there- in to a cool Malfoy mask,

“How can I help you Lord Potter-Black, or should I say Lord Potter- Black- Slytherin?

“Look Draco please don't do this. I didn't know speaking to snakes was such a big deal. I grew up with muggles remember. I don't know how I got this gift but I'm not the heir of Slytherin. Please don't be like this?”

Draco's eyes softened for a second before the mask was back in place,

“If that is all Lord Potter I have some studying to do. If you will excuse me I'm very busy.”

A coldness spread over Harry's body at the other boy's words and something died inside him,

“Sorry for wasting your time Heir Malfoy it won't happen again. I hope you have a good day. I will not bother you again.”

He bowed sharply to the blond not noticing the hurt in the blue eyes of the teenager as he swiftly turned on his heel and stormed out of the library, earning himself a reproving glare from Madam Pince, who was polishing the gilded cover of a large spell book. Harry blundered up the corridor, barely noticing where he was going, hugging the coldness of his soul close to him for comfort. The result was that he walked into something very large and solid, which knocked him backward onto the floor. 

“Owe, hello Hagrid.” 

Hagrid’s face was entirely hidden by a woolly, snow-covered balaclava, but it couldn’t possibly   
be anyone else, as he filled most of the corridor in his moleskin overcoat. A dead rooster was   
hanging from one of his massive, gloved hands. 

“All righ’, Mr Potter?” “Why aren’t yeh in class?” 

“Cancelled due to bad weather, What’re you doing in here?” 

Hagrid held up the limp rooster. 

“Second one killed this term. It’s either foxes or a Blood-Suckin Bugbear, an’ I need the Headmaster’s permission ter put a charm around the hen coop.” 

He peered more closely at Harry from under his thick, snow flecked eyebrows. 

“Yeh sure yeh’re all righ’? Yeh look white as a sheet—” 

Harry had no intention in confiding to the large man as he suspected that any thing he said would quickly get to the wrong ears. 

“It’s nothing just a little cold. I’d better get going, Hagrid, it’s Transfiguration next and I’ve got to   
pick up my books.” 

He walked off his mind still full of what Draco had said to him. 

Harry stamped up the stairs and turned along another corridor, which was particularly dark; the   
torches had long been extinguished by the strong, icy drafts that were blowing through a loose   
windowpane. He was halfway down the passage when he tripped headlong over something lying   
on the floor. 

He turned to squint at what he’d fallen over and felt as though his stomach had dissolved. Some one was lying on the floor, rigid and cold, a look of shock frozen on his face,his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. And that wasn’t all. Next to him was another figure, the strangest sight Harry had ever seen.


	8. Chapter 8

It was Nearly Headless Nick, the Griffindor ghost, no longer pearly-white and transparent, but black and smoky, floating immobile and horizontal, six inches off the floor. His head was half off and his face wore an expression of shock identical to the paralysed boy's. 

Harry got to his feet, his breathing fast and shallow, his heart doing a kind of drum roll against his   
ribs. He looked wildly up and down the deserted corridor and saw a line of spiders scuttling as   
fast as they could away from the bodies. The only sounds were the muffled voices of teachers   
from the classes on either side. He could run, and no one would ever know he had been there. His Slytherin instincts of self preservation kicked in and he quickly darted away as behind him a shout of some one else finding the body,

“ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAACK!” 

The double attack on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick turned what had hitherto been nervousness into real panic. Curiously, it was Nearly Headless Nick’s fate that seemed to worry people most. What could possibly do that to a ghost? people asked each other; what terrible power could harm someone who was already dead? There was almost a stampede to book seats on the Hogwarts Express so that students could go home for Christmas. 

Harry already opted to stay in the castle that Christmas as he had promised Draco before they fell out. Draco had still not spoken to him since that time in the library. They still shared the same dorm but both avoided going into it until it was time for bed where Draco quickly drew his curtains with out even looking at the dark haired boy. Harry on the other hand had grown even colder so much so that even the teachers had not dared to ask the icy boy in class questions. The only thing that gave Harry any comfort was Whisper who had taken to travelling everywhere with him hidden in his clothes.  
…............................................................................................................................................................

Dumbledore covered his smile as he glanced at the Slytherin table. The potion had worked on the Malfoy child. He was sitting as far away as he could ignoring the Potter brat conversing with his friends as if nothing was wrong. It was good the Malfoy was staying for Christmas as the potion to invert feelings needed to be renewed regularly. The stronger the feelings, the stronger the potion would be to change those feelings. He would leave the Potter brat to stew until after Christmas before starting to draw the boy in to his web and gain his trust. 

He did not notice a sharp nosed teacher looking at him suspiciously as he quietly gloated. While Professor Snape did not care for the last Potter. He did care a lot for his godson and this total change of attitude from the boy towards his once best friend was suspicious to say the least, as well as the headmaster sudden interest in the blond boy.  
…............................................................................................................................................................

Christmas came quickly and Harry sent obligatory gifts to Lord and Lady Malfoy as well as a short note to wish them a happy Yule tide. Even if Draco had given up their friendship Harry had no intention of alienating the older Malfoy's as they were the ones keeping him safe and until they disowned him he continued to play nice.

Harry was reading quietly in a shadowed corner ignoring the rest of the common room when a cold draft of the Slytherin common room opened and in strode Draco with Crabbe and Doyle,

“...Saint Potter, He’s another one with no proper wizard feeling, or he wouldn’t go around with that cold attitude making people think he’s Slytherin’s heir! I wish I knew who it is. I could help them.” 

Crabbe looked even more clueless than usual. Fortunately, Malfoy didn’t notice, 

“So the heir of Slytherin isn't Potter? You must have some idea who’s behind it all…” 

“You know I haven’t, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you? I've check Potter's genealogy extensively and the closest to Slytherin is a third cousin twice removed from his father's side. Father won’t tell me anything about the last time the Chamber was opened either. Of course, it was fifty years ago, so it was before his time, but he knows all about it, and he says that it was all kept quiet and it’ll look suspicious if I know too much about it. But I know one thing — last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mud blood died. So I bet it’s a matter of time before one of them is killed this time… I hope it’s Granger,”

Draco looked very happy at that thought. Harry surreptitiously watching them noticed Crabbe's fist clenched. Harry frowned, something was off. Not his problem though. Goyle grunted sounding strained,

“D’you know if the person who opened the Chamber last time was caught?” 

“Oh, yeah… whoever it was was expelled, they’re probably still in Azkaban.” 

“Azkaban?”

Now Harry was really suspicious even he knew what Azkaban was and he was muggle raised. Draco seemed oblivious to the abnormalities his friends were showing, Harry sighed mentally at his ex-friends stupidity.

“Azkaban — the wizard prison, Goyle, Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward. Father says to keep my head down and let the Heir of Slytherin get on with it. He says the school needs ridding of all the Mud blood filth, but not to get mixed up in it. Of course, he’s got a lot on his plate at the moment. You know the Ministry of Magic raided our manor last week?” 

Harry looked up in concern. Why were they still harassing the Malfoy's? Mr Malfoy said it had been sorted.

“Yeah…. Luckily, they didn’t find much. Father’s got some very valuable Dark Arts stuff. But luckily, we’ve got our own secret chamber under the drawing-room floor —” 

“Ho!” 

Malfoy looked at Goyle and Harry jerked violently at Draco's rash comment. He reminded himself to send a missive to Mr Malfoy just in case the information was passed on to the wrong hands. He sighed quietly and went back to his book. Suddenly the two oafs jumped to their feet looking pained. Draco raised an eyebrow,

“Where are you two going?”

“Medicine for my stomach, ate to much.” 

The two boy's ran out of Slytherin common room, hurling themselves at the entrance but not before Harry notice a change in them,

'Poly-juice potion.'

…............................................................................................................................................................

Dumbledore was now used to being unhappy. He sometimes didn't know know why he bothered sometimes. He had supplied the two with poly- juice potion to try and get Harry even more isolated from the rest of the Slytherin's by spreading even more rumours to his fellow house mates, but 'NOO', they had to latch on to the Malfoy instead. The news of the Malfoy's secret stash of Dark items should have been of use, but some one had warned the Malfoy's before he could get a raid together and the stash was gone. The Minister had been furious and some of his lesser pawns in the Ministry had been fired over the illegal raid. They were easily replaceable though so it did not matter to much.   
Maybe it was time to increase of potion that he was giving the young Malfoy. If Malfoy started to up his attacks on Potter the other Slytherin's would fall in line. Then Potter would realise that he would have to look out side the Slytherin house if he wanted friends. It was risky but time was running out as the attacks increased and it was only a matter of time until Snape realised some one was potioning his god son. 

…............................................................................................................................................................

To others it was a special day, Valentines. Harry as usual was walking to class by himself, nose deep in a book, hearing a commotion Harry glanced up. It seemed that Draco was tormenting the youngest Weasley again, 

“Wonder what Weasel's written in this? Some thing about Potter I would guess the way you have been stalking him. Lets have a look shall we?” 

A hush fell over the onlookers. Ginny was staring from what looked like a diary, to Draco and back again looking terrified. Harry's eyes widened as he recognised the book Mr Malfoy had slipped in the cauldron at the book store all that time ago. A prefect got involved as well as some other Griffindor's and Slytherin's, eventually the book was handed back and Ginny covered her face with her hands and fled into class. Leaving the rest of the pack of student arguing amongst them selves and loosing points from the prefect.

'Idiots the lot of them.'

…............................................................................................................................................................

Over the next few months nothing much happened except Draco had gotten worse in his remarks about his ex-best friend which was ignored by the raven much to the others frustration. He had taken to spending most of his time in the library for a bit of peace and quiet as well as trying to make contingency plans for when the Malfoy's throw his out. The way no way in hell that he was going back to the Dursley's. 

Granger also spent a lot of time in the library which annoyed him but he soon realised the girl was distracted by other things and mainly left him alone seeming to ignore him for the most part. Harry over Easter had already picked out his third year electives and had taken to study the relevant material as he had already basically mastered this years curriculum, he also was looking for clues on just who or what was doing the attacking as he had no desire to get in the way of what ever was doing it. 

The peace was shattered on the day of the Griffindor vs Hufflepuff match. Harry hated the stupid sport, but as Quiddich matches were mandatory for all students under fourth year that meant he was forced to suffer sitting on a cold hard bench while people screamed around him while he read. He had just set foot on the marble staircase when he heard it yet again. 

“Kill this time… let me rip… tear…” 

His eyes narrowed. Harry stood, irresolute, trying to catch the voice again, but people were now emerging from the Great Hall behind him, talking loudly, exiting through the front doors on their way to the Quiddich pitch pushing him along with them also pushing him out of the door. 

The teams walked onto the field to tumultuous applause (and a quick noise silencing bubble around a certain raven). Oliver Wood took off for a warm-up flight around the goal posts; Madam Hooch released the balls. The Hufflepuffs, who played in canary yellow, were standing in a huddle, having a last-minute discussion of tactics. The rest of the players were just mounting their brooms when Professor McGonagall came half marching, half running across the pitch, carrying an enormous purple megaphone. Harry’s heart rose in hope, 

“This match has been cancelled,”

There were boos and shouts from the stands. Oliver Wood, looking devastated, landed and ran toward Professor McGonagall without getting off his broomstick. 

“But, Professor! We’ve got to play — the cup —Griffindor—” 

The Professor was not having any excuses and the other teachers attending quickly directed the pupils back in to the school with as little fuss as possible.

Harry followed the rest of the students, but he noticed that the Transfiguration’s professor had taken the youngest male Weasley aside and was talking quietly to him. He noticed the other boy pale suddenly his horrid freckles standing out on his skin, before he moved out of sight. 

The next day the hall was buzzing like a house of bees but Harry managed to pick up the key points of the gossip. Granger had been found near the library petrified, Dumbledore was suspended by the school governors until farther notice and Hagrid had been arrested on suspicion of him keeping a dangerous beast. The last one got Harry's brain ticking and not in a good way.

' Dead cockerels.'

' Secret chamber with a guardian.'

'Petrified humans and animals. No spells detected.'

'Can hear and talk to snakes. Hear voices no one else hears.'

'House of Slytherin's emblem a really big snake.'

'Guardian supposedly has live for a very long time.'

'OHHHH!!!!! SHHHHHIIIIIIITTTTTT!!!!!!!!'

Harry's face turned white and a shudder went through him. His appetite totally gone. For a moment he really wished he was back in his cupboard with the strongest padlock on the door he could find. Whisper hissed and wriggled out of his robes tongue flicking trying to sense the danger that had caused it's bond mate to go in to shock. It took several minutes for Harry to get his breathing back under control. How could no one have guessed before what the creature was, the facts were all there for crying out loud. 

Over the next few weeks Harry basically hid in his bed only emerging to get to lessons and eat a quick meal before returning to the sanctuary of the common room. He figured if it was the Heir of Slytherin controlling the beast, it would never be allowed any where near the Slytherin quarters as it might hurt one of the precious pure bloods that it was supposed to protect. Nightmares of the past slowly started to encroach on his dreams and his scar now had a permanent ache to it causing his once perfect scores to drop dramatically. 

One thing that Harry was absent-mindedly grateful for was Draco's harassment of him seem to have died out and the other boy was a lot quieter when Harry was around in the common room. If Harry had been thinking clearly he would have noticed Draco's eyes creased with confusion and worry as his once best friend started to observe the raven's haggard look and his bad sleeping habits. The rest of the Slytherin's were also to busy to notice that their number one class mate was suffering, it was exam time and every one was hiding pepper up and anti tiredness potions in every place they could. The news was broken ten minutes into the potions class, Professor Snape glared at his wards and told them that their exams would start on the first of June, one week from today.


	9. Chapter 9

“Exams? We’re still getting exams?”

“That is correct Miss Parkinson, and if I find anyone of my snake gets less than an Acceptable in their potions the consequences will not be pleasant. The whole point of keeping the school open at this time is for you to receive your education,as ordered by the temporary Head mistress. The exams will therefore take place as usual, and I trust you are all studying hard.” 

At the look he gave them no one dared to object any farther. Three days before their first exam, Professor McGonagall made an announcement at breakfast in front of the school. 

“I have good news,” 

“Dumbledore’s coming back!” 

Harry's lips curled as that was yelled by a brainless student. He guessed it was a Griffindor as it seemed they all thought the sun shone out of the old man ass. Personally he could no care less if the old man died of some horrible disease.

“You’ve caught the Heir of Slytherin!” 

“Quidditch matches are back on!” 

When the hubbub had subsided, Professor McGonagall said, “Professor Sprout has informed me   
that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people   
who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell   
us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching   
the culprit.” 

There was an explosion of cheering. Harry sat quietly at the Slytherin table suddenly feeling a lot better. He glanced over at the Griffindor table to see their reaction, Ron was looking happier than   
he’d looked in days at the news. The boy was probably failing his classes miserably now the fuzzy haired know-it-all wasn't there to help him. The others on the table were also celebrating the news in a typical brainless fashion.

Harry left the dinning room feeling better than he had for days only to be met by one of the last people he wanted to see which immediately soured his mood again. She looked tense and nervous,   
and Harry noticed that her hands were twisting in nervousness. 

“What is it?, I'm busy.” 

Ginny didn’t say anything, but glanced up and down the passage way that Harry was heading down with a scared look on her face that reminded Harry of someone, though he couldn’t think who. 

“Spit it out.” 

Harry suddenly realized who Ginny looked like. She was rocking backward and forward slightly   
in her chair, exactly like Dobby did when he was teetering on the edge of revealing forbidden   
information. Ginny seemed to be struggling with something before gathering her courage,

“I’ve got to tell you something. Even if you are Slytherin, you are still the boy-who-lived and a hero. Please help me.”

Harry just looked at her not liking where this was going.

“What is it?” 

Ginny looked as though she couldn’t find the right words. Ginny opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Harry thought he knew where this was going and leaned forward and spoke quietly, 

“Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting   
oddly?” 

Ginny drew a deep breath and, at that precise moment, they both heard some noisy students heading their way. Ginny jumped up as though she had just been electrified, gave Harry a fleeting, frightened look, and scampered away. Harry stared after the girl for a few seconds then carried on his way to the Slytherin house. He was not a hero and he never intended to be a hero. He already knew too much and wanted nothing to do with it.

…............................................................................................................................................................

Draco stared mournfully in to the fire in the common room. He had messed thing up badly, really badly. It was like a cloud had been lifted from his mind over the last few days and he slowly realised just how awful he had been to Harry. He should have been gleeful that his best mate and confidant could speak the noble language of the snakes when the shock of it had worn off. Instead he had turned on one of the few people he actually liked and treated him worse than a mud blood. 

Draco cringed as he remembered the look of betrayal Harry had given him in the library before he had fled and the icy mask that Harry now showed every one was firmly in place. He knew for a fact that Harry would never trust or even like him again, once a person lost Harry's trust and respect there was no way to regain it even if the other boy 'forgave' that person. He had to talk to someone about this and his feelings. 

“Crabbe, Goyle I am going to talk to my god father wait in the common room until I come back.”


	10. Chapter 10

If Snape had been anyone other than the head of Slytherin and spy master to Dumbledore, he would have burst out in a furious rage. Earlier that day he had snuck in to the Headmasters office under a disillusion charm to have a quick peek around. He fingered a vial that had rolled under the old Headmasters desk. It was empty, but his Mastery in Potions and he sensitive nose told him exactly what it had once held. 

If it was not for the fact that the old meddler had his freedom and an oath to keep him under control the potion master would have cursed the old fool to Hades and back for drugging his god son when he got back. He returned to his own office to try and debate what exactly to do. He obviously had to get Draco off the potion and he suspected with out the Headmaster in the school it was already wearing off. He was roused by an imperious knock on his chamber door. Three guesses who that was. No make it two as no one knocked that way, except the Malfoy's. He opened the door to see the troubled face of his god son staring back at him,

“Come in Draco. What can I do for you today?”

He gestured to the sofa and took a seat of his own not before poring himself a good measure of whisky. His eyes softened in slight amusement as Draco slumped in to the soft cushions with total disregard to pure-blood etiquette. He remained silent as he let Draco gathered his thoughts a feelings.

“It's about Harry. I don't know what to do? I have totally messed any chance of him ever talking to me again. I know I get jealous easily but I never meant to take it this far.”

Snape raised an eyebrow,

“Why the change of heart now? Just last week you were in here saying you wished that the half-blood should have died when You- know-who killed his parents and that you wished you had been there to watch as he slaughter them.”

Draco cringed at the memory and a suppressed sob passed his lips at the terrible things he had said in and out of Harry's hearing. Snapes heart ached at the pitiful expression and at the sad and lonely eyes of the boy in front of him. He sighed softly,

' Damn Dumbledore. Damn him to the lowest pits of the underworld.'

“ Draco I need you to listen to me carefully with out interruption. Being around Harry Potter is dangerous regardless of his being sorted in to Slytherin, he is still seen as many as the saviour of the Light and defeater of The Dark Lord. This paints a target on his back as well as his close friends. The Light want him as a champion never mind the cost and the Dark side excluding a few want him dead as he cost them a lot by the fall of You-Know-Who. He has very little or no protection from either except his titles which are useless until he comes of age and your fathers protection. At the moment your father sees Harry as a good investment but as soon as it becomes too dangerous for example if you get hurt he will drop Harry like a ton of hot bricks.”

Draco's eyes widened at the implications of his mentors speech. Snape pressed on.

“ These raids on your home are only the start trying to discredit you family name and reduce the influence on the Ministry and this is only the beginning of the conflict over the boy-who-lived. I care for you my boy and I will do everything I can to protect you from harm but I can only do so much deflecting the powers involved. There is also another problem and I will tell you this in the strictest of confidence. The Dark Lord is not dead only suffering a huge loss of power which he is determined to regain and will allow nothing .and no one to get in his way.

Snape fell silent waiting for the blond haired boy to fully realise the implications of getting involved with the Potter boy. Draco eventually raised his eyes to meet his god father's,

“I can't do it. I can't just abandon Harry he had suffered to much already. I was...... I mean I am his only friend and I will do any thing to protect that. Please!!! Uncle help me to get back with Harry. I'll become strong and be able to protect him even if my father abandons him. I WILL NOT, even if I have to face the Dark Lord myself.”

Snape seemed to age before his eyes but Draco kept his eyes firmly fixed showing he was determined to follow through with his declaration. His all but uncle exhaled softly in defeat,

“Potter is not ….....unintelligent for all his cold nature. If your case is presented in the right way it is not unreconcilable that you will eventually regain the same standing as you once enjoyed with him. As a potions master I am trained to know how to identify the affects of different potions on people. There is one particular potion that if consumed reverses the emotion one feels for some one. If taken love turns to hate, lust turns to repulsion and friends turn to enemies. It needs to be taken often as it's effects do not last more than a week but then usually by that time the person or people it is used on have irrevocably split anyway.”

Draco gaped at the Professor then his eyes narrowed. 

“So somebody dosed me with this potion to break me up with Harry.”

Snapes face blanked in to a perfectly Slytherin mask.

“It is possible. But it is a difficult potion to acquire and no student would have access to getting the potion as it is difficult to get a hold of. The up side is now you know about it the potion looses it's effectiveness as you can monitor your emotions to tell what is real and what isn't. The antidote is also easy to make as well.”

“So if I tell Harry I was under a potion He will forgive me and things can go back to normal.”

Snape nodded slightly as his favourite student left the room with a determined step. He slumped dejectedly in his seat and picked up his glass of alcohol for the first time and took a healthy swig. He gazed at the fire exhausted from his heart to heart chat that had failed miserably in protecting one of the few people he cared for the most. His tired eyes narrowed as the flames turned green and Professor McGonagall's head appeared in the flames.

“Severus I need you to come to the staffroom immediately. There's been another message and it says two students have been taken by the monster. Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter!!!!!

…............................................................................................................................................................

Harry's eyes opened slowly and he closed them quickly as a sharp pain wrenched through his head from two different places one from his scar another from the back of his head. He waited a few minute as the pain from the back of his head died down to a manageable level while trying to remember what the hell happened.

' Whisper asleep on his bed …....Crabbe and Goyle in the common room....Wanting to go to check some thing out in the library.... Going through the entrance then...........'

He groaned and sat up eyes still closed. He cracked one eye open and looked around fuzzily fortunately his glasses were still intact. He was sitting at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place. His heart beating very fast, Harry stood listening to the chill silence. 

He pulled out his wand and moved forward between the serpentine columns. Every careful   
footstep echoed loudly off the shadowy walls. The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following him. More than once, with a jolt of the stomach, he thought he saw one stir.   
Then, as he drew level with the last pair of pillars, a statue high as the Chamber itself loomed   
into view, standing against the back wall. 

Harry had to crane his neck to look up into the giant face above: It was ancient and monkish,   
with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard’s sweeping stone robes, where   
two enormous grey feet stood on the smooth Chamber floor. And between the feet, face down,   
lay a small, black-robed figure with flaming-red hair. Harry cast a disdainful glance at the figure. Surly she was not the Heir it was just not possible.

“She won’t wake.” 

Harry jumped and spun around on his feet. A tall, black-haired boy was leaning against the nearest pillar, watching. He was strangely blurred around the edges, as though Harry were looking at him through a misted window. 

“ The Slytherin Heir I presume.” 

The other nodded bowing slightly, not taking his eyes off Harry’s face. 

“Tom Riddle at your service.” 

Harry stared at him. Tom Riddle had been at Hogwarts fifty years ago, he had seen the name on one of the trophies displayed about the school, yet here he stood, a weird, misty light shining about him, not a day older than sixteen. 

“Are you a ghost?” 

“A memory. Preserved in a diary for fifty years.” 

He pointed toward the floor near the statue’s giant toes. Lying open there was the little black diary Harry had seen Ginny with and the one Lord Malfoy had slipped in to her cauldron at the book store. Harry looked around the room casually,

“So this is the chamber of Secrets. May I enquire why I was brought here?

He looked back at the other. Riddle was still watching him — twirling Harry’s wand between his long fingers. A smile curled the corners of Riddle’s mouth. He continued to stare at Harry, twirling the wand idly. 

“I’ve waited a long time for this, Harry Potter. For the chance to see you. To speak to you.” 

Harry froze and looked coldly at the older raven haired boy-who-lived.

“Why me?”

Harry noticed that Riddle had a really pleasant smile but the others emotionless eyes gave his real intentions away.

“Well, that’s an interesting question, And quite a long story but I feel we have time. I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasley’s like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger. That diary. My diary in fact, I still wonder how it got in to her possession not that it matters much now. Little Ginny’s been writing in it for months and months, telling me all her pitiful worries and woes — how her brothers tease her, how she had to come to school with second hand robes and books, how one day she would have the love of Lord Potter- Black and become rich and famous.” 

All the time he spoke, Riddle’s eyes never left Harry’s face. There was an almost hungry look in   
them. 

“It’s very boring, having to listen to the silly little troubles of an eleven-year-old girl. But I was patient. I wrote back. I was sympathetic, I was kind. Ginny simply adored me. No one’s ever understood me like you, Tom… I’m so glad I’ve got this diary to confide in… It’s like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket…It was about this time I started to understand something.” 

Riddle laughed, a high, cold laugh that didn’t suit him. It made the hairs stand up on the back of   
Harry’s neck. 

“If I say it myself, Harry, I’ve always been able to charm the people I needed. But I was weak and needed to get stronger. So I got Ginny to poured out her soul to me, and her soul happened to be exactly what I wanted… I grew stronger and stronger on a diet of her deepest fears, her darkest secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding Miss Weasley a few of my secrets, to start pouring a little of my soul back into her as it should be. Then I realised two things. You see Ginny and I were meant to be together from the beginning but she was to weak and deluded that you were the one for her. I had to free her so she only would look at me. So you had to die. Another was I would live forever while she would grow old and die. I could not let this happen. Our souls were already combining so why not our bodies, we could be one for all eternity.” 

Harry's mouth had gone very dry at the 'you had to die' part and he felt absolutely defenceless in front of this obviously delusional being. Harry licked his lips. He had to keep Riddle talking until he came up with a plan.

“Look, I have absolutely no interest in the girl why did you bring me in to this. If you were so weak how did you command the Basilisk?”


	11. Chapter 11

Riddle raised an eyebrow at the comment knowing what the other was trying to do but carried on,

“Ginny of course, I was starting to possess her after all. Ginny Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school roosters and daubed threatening messages on the walls. She set the Serpent of Slytherin on four Mud bloods, and the Squib’s cat. Of course, she didn’t know what she was doing at first. It was very amusing. I wish you could have seen her new diary entries… far more interesting, they became… Dear Tom, I think I’m losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don’t know how they got there. Dear Tom, I can’t remember what I did on the night of Halloween, but a cat was attacked and I’ve got paint all down my front. Dear Tom, Percy keeps telling me I’m pale and I’m not myself. I think he suspects me… There was another attack today and I don’t know where I was. Tom, what am I going to do? I think I’m going mad… I think I’m the one attacking everyone, Tom! I knew she was still to young to understand what true love was so I had to make her forget after all she was working to bring us our future together.” 

Harry’s fists were clenched, the nails digging deep into his palms. 

“It took a very long time for little Ginny to stop trusting her diary. But she finally became suspicious and tried to tell you what was happening as if I would ever let that happen. The girl was already mine and she always will be once I have made our souls and powers in to a glorious new body.”

Harry frowned,

“So why did you want to meet me again if you already had the girl? You make it sound as if there was another reason besides showing Ginny you were stronger than me. If it were only that you would have just killed me and not brought me down here.” 

Riddle smirked the evil light in his red brown eyes sparkling with malice as he gave a high pitched laugh filled with madness.

 

“Well, you see, Ginny told me all about you, Harry. Your whole fascinating history.” 

His eyes roved over the lightning scar on Harry’s forehead, and their expression grew hungrier. 

“I knew I must find out more about you, talk to you, meet you if I could. So I decided to show you my face and have a short talk so you will know who I truly am. It was I who let the basilisk out fifty years ago and got Hagrid to take the fall after my pet finally killed a filthy mud blood. It was so easy.”

 

Riddle laughed his high laugh again. 

“It was my word against Hagrid’s, Harry. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando   
Dippet, the previous headmaster. On the one hand, Tom Riddle, poor but brilliant, parentless but so brave, school prefect, model student… on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week, trying to raise werewolf cubs under his bed, sneaking off to the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls… but I admit, even I was surprised how well the plan worked. I thought someone must realize that Hagrid couldn’t possibly be the Heir of Slytherin. It had taken me five whole years to find out everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets and discover the secret entrance… as though Hagrid had the brains, or the power! Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, seemed to think Hagrid was innocent. He persuaded Dippet to keep Hagrid and train him as gamekeeper. Yes, I think Dumbledore might have guessed… Dumbledore never seemed to like me as much as the other teachers did…” 

Harry snorted forgetting the scenario slightly.

“Stupid man always sticking his nose in to where it is not wanted. Always favouring those stupid Griffindor's who show no potential and always thinking he knows best.”

“Well, he certainly kept an annoyingly close watch on me after Hagrid was expelled. I knew it wouldn’t be safe to open the Chamber again while I was still at school. But I wasn’t going to waste those long years I’d spent searching for it. I decided to leave behind a diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in its pages, so that one day, with luck, I would be able to lead another in my footsteps, and finish Salazar Slytherin’s noble work.”

Harry snorted at the older boy arrogance and incompetence.

“Well, you haven’t finished it. No one’s died this time, not even that mangy cat. In a few hours the Mandrake Draught will be ready and everyone who was Petrified will be all right again —” 

“Haven’t I already told you, that killing Mud bloods doesn’t matter to me any more? For many months now, my new target has been — you.” 

Harry stared at him, something big was not adding up. As far as he knew he had not done anything to cause Riddle this kind of obsession with him other than him wanting the red head.

“Imagine how angry I was when my diary was opened, and Ginny was writing to me saying you had the power to talk to snakes and had taken my title as the Heir. It was nearly time for us to join anyway, so I made Ginny write her farewells on the wall and come down here to wait. She struggled   
and cried and became very stimulated even after I explained that we would be together forever . But there isn’t much life left in her… She put too much into the diary, into me. Enough to let me or should I soon say us to leave its pages at last… I/we have been waiting for you to wake since we arrived here. I/we knocked you out and brought you here so we'd remain undisturbed. I/we have many questions for you, Harry Potter.” 

“Like what? ” 

Well. How is it that you — a skinny boy even with extraordinary magical talent — managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing but a scar, while Lord Voldemort’s powers were destroyed?” 

There was an odd red gleam in his hungry eyes now and in Harry's mind things were starting to fall into place and he really, really hoped he was wrong.

“Why do you care how I escaped? Voldemort was after your time…” 

Harry cringed inside as Riddles eyes filled with merriment.

“ Come now Harry think. I've already given you so many clues already surely you can guess. Voldemort is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter…” 

He pulled Harry’s wand from his pocket and began to trace it through the air, writing three shimmering words: 

TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE 

Then he waved the wand once, and the letters of his name rearranged themselves: 

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT 

“You see?”

Inside Harry groaned. He hated being right all the time.

“ I fashioned myself a new name, a name I knew wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak, when I had become the greatest sorcerer in the world! Dumbledore’s been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me. And he claimed I was scared of him, stupid old fool. Now, Harry, I’m going to teach you a little lesson, Slytherin to Slytherin. Let’s match the powers of Lord Voldemort, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, against the famous Lord Harry Potter-Black to see who's stronger. Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts Four.” 

Harry wheeled around to look up at the statue. Slytherin’s gigantic stone face was moving. Horror struck, Harry saw his mouth opening, wider and wider, to make a huge black hole. And something was stirring inside the statue’s mouth. Something was slithering up from its depths. 

Harry backed away until he hit the dark Chamber wall, and he shut his eyes tight as something huge hit the stone floor of the Chamber. Harry felt it shudder — he knew what was happening, he could sense it, could almost see the giant serpent uncoiling itself from Slytherin’s mouth. Then he heard Riddle’s hissing voice: 

“Kill him.” 

The basilisk was moving toward Harry; he could hear its heavy body slithering heavily across   
the dusty floor. Eyes still tightly shut, Harry began to run blindly sideways, his hands   
outstretched, feeling his way — Voldemort was laughing. Harry tripped. He fell hard onto the stone and felt his hands rip open on the stone floor the serpent was barely feet from him, he could hear it coming. 

The powers under Hogwarts felt the blood of their chosen touch them. They felt the boys fear and disparate panic. They called their guardian from in side the castle to save their hope for the future. They reached out and added their own power to the guardian so it may reach the boy in time. 

There was a loud, explosive spitting sound right above him, and then something heavy hit Harry   
so hard that he was smashed into the wall. Waiting for fangs to sink through his body he heard   
more mad hissing, something thrashing wildly off the pillars. 

He couldn’t help it — he opened his eyes wide enough to squint at what was going on. Music was coming from somewhere. Riddle whirled around to stare down the empty Chamber. The music was growing louder. It was eerie, spine-tingling, unearthly; it lifted the hair on Harry’s scalp and made his heart feel as though it was swelling to twice its normal size. Then, as the music reached such a pitch that Harry felt it vibrating inside his own ribs, flames erupted at the top of the nearest pillar. Harry gasped as he took in the view.

The enormous serpent, bright, poisonous green, thick as an oak trunk, had raised itself high in the   
air and its great blunt head was weaving drunkenly between the pillars. As Harry trembled, ready   
to close his eyes if it turned, he saw what had distracted the snake and caused the disturbance. 

The phoenix that Dumbledore had in his office, Fawkes was soaring around its head, and the basilisk was snapping furiously at him with fangs long and thin as sabres as Fawkes dived. His long golden beak sank out of sight and a sudden shower of dark blood spattered the floor. The snake’s tail thrashed, narrowly missing Harry, and before Harry could shut his eyes, it turned — Harry looked straight into its face and saw that its eyes, both its great, bulbous yellow eyes, had been punctured by the phoenix; blood was streaming to the floor, and the snake was spitting in agony. 

He heard Riddle screaming in fury, Harry felt that he could have felt pity for the snake if it had not been trying to kill him.

“LEAVE THE BIRD! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU. YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM. KILL HIM!” 

The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly. Fawkes was circling its head, piping his eerie   
song, jabbing here and there at its scaly nose as the blood poured from its ruined eyes.


	12. Chapter 12

The blinded serpent swayed, confused, still deadly. Fawkes was circling its head, piping his eerie   
song, jabbing here and there at its scaly nose as the blood poured from its ruined eyes. It's nose widening trying to scent it's pray. Harry frantically looked around trying to find something, anything that could help him. The snake’s tail whipped across the floor again. Harry ducked. 

Something soft hit his face. The basilisk had swept the Sorting Hat into Harry’s arms. Harry seized it with out thinking and jammed it on his head. It was all he had left, his only chance — he rammed it onto his head and threw himself flat onto the floor as the basilisk’s tail swung over him again. 

'Help me — help me — '

Harry thought, his eyes screwed tight under the hat. 

'Please help me.' 

There was no answering voice. Instead, the hat contracted, as though an invisible hand was squeezing it very tightly. Something very hard and heavy thudded onto the top of Harry’s head, almost knocking him out. Stars winking in front of his eyes, he grabbed the top of the hat to pull it off and felt something long and hard beneath it. 

'A staff, a bloody staff. A piece of stick against a King of snakes and a psychopathic madman. Yup he was dead.'

“KILL THE BOY! LEAVE THE BIRD! THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU. SNIFF — SMELL HIM.” 

Harry had had enough of the mad man's screams,

“WILL YOU SHUT UP SCREAMING FOR TWO MINUTES ABOUT TRYING TO KILL ME!!!!!!”

Harry was on his feet, ready. The basilisk’s head was falling, its body coiling around, hitting   
pillars as it twisted to face him. He could see the vast, bloody eye sockets, see the mouth   
stretching wide, wide enough to swallow him whole, lined with fangs long as his sword, thin,   
glittering, venomous — 

It lunged blindly — Harry dodged and it hit the Chamber wall. It lunged again, and its forked   
tongue lashed Harry’s side. He raised the staff in both his hands — 

The basilisk lunged again, and this time its aim was true — Harry threw his whole weight behind   
the staff and drove it to into the roof of the serpent’s mouth shouting the first thing that came to mind,

“FULMINO!!!!”

A flash of light and intense heat shot from the staff directly in to the giant snakes head. But as it did so, warm blood drenched Harry’s arms, he felt a searing pain just above his elbow. One long, poisonous fang was sinking deeper and deeper into his arm and it splintered as the basilisk   
keeled over sideways and fell, twitching, to the floor, it's brains fried. 

Harry slid down the wall. He gripped the fang that was spreading poison through his body and   
wrenched it out of his arm. But he knew it was too late. White-hot pain was spreading slowly and   
steadily from the wound. Even as he dropped the fang and watched his own blood soaking his robes, his vision went foggy. The Chamber was dissolving in a whirl of dull colour. A patch of scarlet swam past, and Harry heard a soft clatter of claws beside him. 

“Stupid bird, bringing a senile hat. Next time some thing pointy would be nice or an escape route. Not that there will be a next time, thanks for trying to save me anyway.”

He felt the bird lay its beautiful head on the spot where the serpent’s fang had pierced him. He could hear echoing footsteps and then a dark shadow moved in front of him. 

“You’re dead, Harry Potter. Dead. Even Dumbledore’s bird knows it. Do you see what he’s doing, Potter? He’s crying.” 

Harry blinked. Fawkes head slid in and out of focus. Thick, pearly tears were trickling down the   
glossy feathers. 

'Did this bloke never shut up with his god awful rants?'

“I’m going to sit here and watch you die, Harry Potter. Take your time. I’m in no hurry.” 

Harry felt drowsy. Everything around him seemed to be spinning. 

“So ends the famous Harry Potter. Alone in the Chamber of Secrets, defeated at last by the Dark Lord he so unwisely challenged. You’ll be back with your dear Mud blood mother soon, Harry… She bought you twelve years of borrowed time… but Lord Voldemort got you in the end, as you knew he must…” 

If this is dying, thought Harry, it’s not so bad. Even the pain was leaving him…

The powers felt another connection growing from the boy to them. Not only was his magic was Gray thanks to the Philosophers stone and a horux. But now his very blood had the essence of a dark creature and light creatures powers flowing through him binding closer to his destiny. 

Fawkes took flight again in a whirl of gold and scarlet as Riddle swore suddenly.

“Phoenix tears…Of course… healing powers… I forgot…” 

He looked into Harry’s face.

“But it makes no difference. In fact, I prefer it this way. Just you and me, Harry Potter… you and me…” 

He raised the wand… Then, in a rush of wings, Fawkes had soared back overhead and something fell into Harry’s lap — the diary. 

For a split second, both Harry and Riddle, wand still raised, stared at it. Then, without thinking,   
without considering, as though he had meant to do it all along, Harry seized the basilisk fang on   
the floor next to him and plunged it straight into the heart of the book. 

There was a long, dreadful, piercing scream. Ink spurted out of the diary in torrents, streaming   
over Harry’s hands, flooding the floor. Riddle was writhing and twisting, screaming and flailing   
and then — the diary gushed black liquid that smelt to Harry's dazed senses much like Draco's scent before the figure of Riddle ripped apart sending the power stolen from the girl back into her.

Then came a faint moan from the end of the Chamber, Ginny was stirring. As Harry looked   
toward her, she sat up. Her bemused eyes travelled from the huge form of the dead basilisk, over   
Harry, in his blood-soaked robes, then to the diary in his hand. She drew a great, shuddering gasp   
and tears began to pour down her face. 

“Harry — oh, Harry — I tried to tell you at b-breakfast, but I c-couldn’t say it in front of other people — it was me, Harry — but I — I s-swear I d-didn’t mean to — R-Riddle made me, he t-took me over — and — how did you kill that — that thing? W-where’s Riddle? The last thing I remember is him coming out of the diary —” 

Harry's lips curled in disdain,

“I don't remember giving you permission to use my name so casually, Miss Weasley. In fact I would be truly grateful if my name never passed your lip in any form ever again. You have more than proved my thoughts on the mental deficiency of the youngest generation of Weasley's by your actions, don't make it any worse.”

Ginny's mouth opened and shut a few times at Harry's harsh words cut through her. This was not how it was supposed to work. Her hero had saved her and was now suppose to sweep her in to his arms and promise he would not let anything bad happen to her again.

“How can you s-say such t-things. Y-you just saved me, just like I d-dreamed you would.”

“Correction Miss Weasley, I saved me. If Riddle hadn't come after me I would have happy let you rot in this place forever. What stupidity possessed you to write in an unknown enchanted book that was too anyone with half a brain steeped in Black and Dark magic? Now get up and show me how to get out of here.” 

Ginny wept as Harry coldly watched her awkwardly get to her feet.   
“I’ve looked forward to coming to Hogwarts ever since B-Bill came and n-now I’ll have to leave and — what'll Mum and Dad say?”

Fawkes was waiting for them, hovering in the Chamber entrance as Harry urged Ginny forward;   
they stepped over the motionless coils of the dead basilisk, through the echoing gloom, and back   
into the tunnel. Harry heard the stone doors they had just passed between close behind them with a soft hiss. Led by Fawkes, whose wide scarlet wings emitted a soft golden glow in the darkness, they walked all the way to the mouth of the pipe that led to freedom. With Fawkes help they levitated up the pipe, Ginny still snivelling hoping to gain some sympathy with Harry but failing badly. 

They arrived at the exit which appeared to be a girls bathroom. Harry quickly let go of the birds feathers and passed the bird the hat keeping the staff and his wand to himself. He ignored the dishevelled girl next to him and started to make his way out of the bathroom. Only to be stopped by something gripping the back of his robes.

“Where are you going with out me?”

Harry snarled to himself,

“Miss Weasley it might have escaped your notice coming from a family such as your own, but I am covered in filth and am in desperate need of a shower and a change of clothes. Now kindly let go of my robe or I'll be forced to remove you by magic.”

“B-but w-what am I s-supposed to do? E-every body will know what I did and I'll be expelled if you don't help me.”

“I don't care Miss Weasley, you deserve every thing you get. You decided to write in a magic book, your mess, not mine. I'd say it was a pleasure but I would be lying. If you will excuse me I have to go and get clean.”

With those parting works he walked as fast as he could in his battered state, the only thing stopping him from collapsing was the thought of hot water and a soft pillow. He was half way to his common room when a black object came sprinting towards him hissing and spitting in out rage. The small black cat pelted at him trying to reach him as fast as possible. Harry's mouth turned upwards tiredly as the small feline scrambled up his body and into his arms.

“Hello Whisper, did you miss me?”

The cat swatted him with a paw and yowled at him in anger for leaving the dorm without him and doing incredible stupid things.

“Hay, it's not my fault these things happened. I'm a Slytherin not a bloody Griffindor. I try to avoid getting killed on a regular bases. Oh we're here.”

Harry mumbled the password and the entrance opened to reveal a subdued common room packed with students some of them crying softly on their friends shoulders. The students turned slowly to see who had entered and some of them gasped letting out faint shrieks of breath. Harry ignored them intent on getting clean a.s.a.p.

He entered his dorm to find Blaise, Pansy,Crabbe and Goyle surrounding his bed with a distraught Draco in the middle of the huddle. He cleared his throat wanting them to move so he could get to his stuff. They turned to see who had made the noise and Pansy let out a shriek,

“YOUR DEAD.”

Harry huffed. What was it with people and loud noises?

“I assure you Miss Parkinson, I'm not dead. Now if you could kindly get off my bed I need a shower and a change of clothes.”

“B-but P-professor Snape said t-that you had been taken by the m-monster and w-were dead with G-ginny W-weasley.” 

“I'm still alive and need a shower so if you will excuse me. I want my towel.”

Blaise numbly handed the requested item to Harry who snatched it from the shaken boy and moved in to the other room leaving the shell shocked group to recover.

…............................................................................................................................................................

'Five minutes is all he wanted. Five bloody minutes of peace and hot water. But Nooooo.'

“Mr Potter will you kindly get dressed and open this door. The Headmaster wants to see you in his office, right away.”

Harry reluctantly turn the hot water off and wrapped his towel around his waist. He glanced at his ruined clothes on the floor and stalked passed the bat like head of house, mumbling swear words under his breath before grabbing a spare uniform and dressing. He gazed longingly at his bed before glared at the older man,

“How long will this take? I have had a long day and am nearly ready to collapse from exhaustion.”

“It will take as long as it will take Mr Potter. You have made a lot of people really worried and an explanation is needed by all those who are concerned.”

Snape reached in to his pocket and brought out a potion,

“Here drink this pepper up potion it will help.”

Harry was sorely tempted to disobey and just go and lay in his bed, but with a sigh he downed the potion in one quick gulp and immediately felt the effects take away the fuzziness from his brain. The down side was he could now feel every ache and pain his mind had protected him from. With out another word the boy followed the older man through the packed common room and through the castle.

“Sour cherries.”

They reach the top of the stair and knocked on the office door. Inside was a surprising group of people. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk with McGonagall standing next to him. On either side of the room glaring at each other were the Malfoy's and the Weasley's. He absently notice Ginny still had not cleaned her self up and was seemly slightly out of it.

Harry found himself being swept into Mrs. Weasley’s tight embrace. 

“You saved her! You saved her! How did you do it?” 

Mrs. Weasley let go of Harry's stiff form and he moved quick to the shelter of the Malfoy's encase there was any more physical demonstrations of gratitude from the Matriarch. Dumbledore eyes twinkled as he spoke,

“I think we all would like that question answered.”

Then he started telling them no quiet everything. But for nearly a quarter of an hour he spoke into the rapt silence: He told them about hearing the disembodied voice, how he had finally realized   
that he was hearing a basilisk in the pipes; how Riddle had kidnapped him and Fawkes had saved him. Down playing his involvement as much as possible and the hats gift to him. When he finished his story he Instinctively looked at Dumbledore, who smiled faintly, the firelight glancing off his half-moon spectacles who began to speak softly,

“What interests me most is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania.” 

Lord Malfoy who had been standing behind Harry all this time hand resting lightly on his shoulder as if in support tensed slightly.


	13. Chapter 13

“It was this diary, Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen… it was totally destroyed when I put the tooth through it in the Chamber.”

Dumbledore's eyes dimmed slightly,

“That is a shame I would have liked to study it. Riddle was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever seen. He turned around to the Weasleys, who were looking utterly bewildered.   
Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle. I taught him myself,   
fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving the school… travelled far and wide…   
sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many   
dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely   
recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort with the clever, handsome boy who was   
once Head Boy here.” 

Mrs Weasley paled at the Headmasters words and glanced sharply at the stone faced Malfoy's in suspicion and fear.

“But, Ginny, What’s our Ginny got to do with — with — him?” 

“His d-diary. I’ve b-been writing in it, and he’s been w-writing back all year —” 

The room silenced at the confession of the eleven year old girl in disbelief. 

“Ginny! Haven’t I taught you anything. What have I always told you? Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain? Why didn’t you show the diary to me, or your mother? A suspicious object like that, it was clearly full of Dark Magic!”

Harry sighed gently as the girl started to cry again. He had already told her what a fool she was but it was nice to be validated.

“I d-didn’t know. I found it inside one of the books Mum got me. I th-thought someone had just left it in there and forgotten about it —” 

Dumbledore interrupted in a firm voice.

“Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing right away. This has been a terrible ordeal for her. There will be no punishment. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort.”

He strode over to the door and opened it. 

“Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate for all involved. I always find that cheers me up. You will find that Madam Pomfrey is still awake. She’s just giving out Mandrake juice — I dare say the basilisk’s victims will be waking up any moment. Oh, and Mr Potter a word in private if you don't mind. I'm sure the Malfoy's won't mind waiting in Professor Snapes quarters for a while.”

Mr Malfoy opened his mouth, but something in the headmasters eyes gave him pause and he offered his wife an arm and made his way to the door trying not to shudder at the threat in those twinkling eyes.

“Very well headmaster you have ten minutes or we will come back to collect Harry ourselves.”

The door closed and Harry silently want to a chair Dumbledore gestured to, before sitting himself behind his desk again eyes trained on the boy in front of him.

And so you met Tom Riddle. I imagine he was most interested in you…” 

“Yes, Sir.”

“Did you know Harry, You can speak Parseltongue, because of Lord Voldemort — who is the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin — can speak Parseltongue. Unless I’m much mistaken, he transferred some of his own powers to you the night he gave you that scar. Not something he intended to do, I’m sure…” 

Harry was sceptical. 

“Voldemort put a bit of himself in me?”

“It certainly seems so. But remember this young Harry, your parents were Light wizards and never had any dealing with Dark magic. Never forget that you are a strong young man and you can over come any evil you might feel from this taint with my guidance. Don't let those who are in Slytherin tell you any different. You are a Light Wizard, Harry, and the defeater of Voldemort, a beacon of all that is good so you need to be careful of corruption and those who will lead you astray.” 

“So your saying I should have been in Griffindor if this piece of power from Voldemort hadn't corrupted me and the hat put me in the wrong house.”

“Exactly. You happen to have many qualities Godric Griffindor prized in his hand-picked students. Bravery — resourcefulness — determination — a certain disregard for rules. Which makes you very different from Tom Riddle and others of his ilk. It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are,far more than our abilities and as intelligent as you are you still need some one to guild you in the ways of the world, especially with your fame and power.”

“Thankyou for your advice. I'll think on it sir.” 

Dumbledore gave a benevolent smile and gestured towards the door.

“That is all I ask. Now off you go as your ten minutes are nearly up as I don't want the Malfoy's breaking down the door. Just remember not everyone wants to take care for you like I do. Some of them have their own agenda’s.”

Harry slowly made his way back to the dungeons and quietly knock on Snapes door before entering. Inside were the senior Malfoy's, Snape as well as a subdued Draco who was staring at him nervously. With out a word Snape handed him another potion which Harry drank down with out question. Mr Malfoy cleared his throat, 

“It appears I owe you an apology Harry. I never meant for things to go this far. I did not know what that diary contained only it was Black magic and I wanted revenge on the raids to my house.”

Harry just nodded too tired even with the potion to feel any real anger at the confession. Mrs Malfoy glided forward and pulled Harry into a hug and a peck on the cheek,

“We are very glad that you came through this safely. Both my husband and I were devastated when word came from the school about your disappearance. Hopefully we can talk more about this during the holidays when we have more time. If you need anything just owl us and we will see what we can do. Any way we need to be off and you look like you could have a good sleep. Draco will help you back to your dorms.”

With one last kiss on the cheek she released him and gently pushed him towards the door, Draco following. The two boy's reached their dorm with out any word between them. Harry barely sparing Draco a glance who looked on the edge of tears before the blond finally spoke.

“Harry........look I'm sorry.”

Harry turned from his bed to look at the other boy.

“Sorry for what, Heir Malfoy?”

Draco cringed at the cold tone but stood firm determined to get this off his chest.

“For my words and actions since we duelled. It.....it was wrong and dishonourable of me to cause such a breach in our friendship over such a small thing, but some thing recently came to light and I hope once you hear it you might forgive me.” 

Harry raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“Over the last week it has felt as if my mind was clearing of something and I went to Uncle Sev about it and he explained I was under a potion that made my positive emotions in to negative emotions. I never wanted to hurt you Harry, please believe me you are and always will be my best friend and it hurts so much that it has come to this. Please I know I don't deserve it but please give me another chance.”

“Do you know who gave you this potion?”

Draco shuffled his feet.

“Uncle and I have our suspicions, but we can not prove anything. But now that we know of this potion the antidote is easy to make, and I have put an order in to Gold-diggers and Wards jewellery shop to make a ring that can detect foreign substances in food and drink, so I should be safe now.”

Harry nodded slowly. His heart pounded in his chest and a strange substance blurring his eyes. The next moment Draco was in his arms both of them falling back on to the bed. Harry could just about make out Draco's muffled words from the vicinity of his chest apologising again and again. Harry took a moment to rub his eyes to get rid of the wetness there before wrapped his arms around the sobbing boy and rearranging them in the bed, relishing in the contact and the comfort the blond haired boy gave him after being so long without it. 

The rest of the final term passed in a haze of blazing sunshine. Hogwarts was back to normal   
with only a few, small differences — Defence Against the Dark Arts classes were cancelled as as soon as Lockhart had heard of the students being kidnapped and some of the staff members suggesting he go an rescue them, he had done a bunk and was reported to be some where in the Antarctic. Draco was no longer strutting around the school as though he owned the place. On the contrary, he was quieter and seemed to cling to Harry like a limpet even out side the common room. On the other hand, Ginny Weasley was perfectly happy again as she had not been expelled much to Harry's disgust and had turn back to stalking him where ever possible.

Too soon, it was time for the journey home on the Hogwarts Express. Harry, Draco, Blaise,   
Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy got a compartment to themselves. They made the most of the last few   
hours in which they were allowed to do magic outside their manors before the holidays. They played Exploding Snap, set off the very last of Crabbe's Filibuster fireworks, and practised disarming each other by magic. Harry watched as he was half way through a book on different disarming charms and was interested. As they reached the station they promised to owl each other as much as possible and possible meetings in the future before going their separate ways.


End file.
